Dream Of The Forest
by SwerveRaise
Summary: In the wake of Ultimecia's defeat, there's the trivial matter of an unfulfilled contract to attend to.
1. Death Of A Nihilist

(Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, or the universe they inhabit. I'm just taking them for a spin.)

"Huh?" _Something's missing..._ "Why are there no chairs in here?"

Selphie's question was a reasonable one; meeting rooms did normally come equipped with chairs. The table was there alright, in truth it would be a struggle to move it, but the chairs normally placed around it had vanished. A puzzled Quistis followed Selphie into the room; "That's strange... There were chairs last time I came in here." Selphie looked back toward Quistis, asking; "How long ago was that?" _It would have been after we got back to Balamb, around the time we were assessing the geological impact of the missile strike, so..._ "About four days ago", she replied. Passing through the doorway, Squall had also noted the lack of chairs. Rather than waste time pondering the mystery of where they'd disappeared to, he offered up a simple, terse solution; "Let's just stand."

The rest of the ensemble shuffled into the chairless meeting room and fanned out around the large table in the centre. The call had gone out over the intercom five minutes previously, with Nida instructing them all to meet the Commander on the third floor atrium. Squall hadn't said anything so far as to the reason why he'd called them all together, they'd just waited for everyone to arrive by the third floor elevator, and when they were all present Squall had directed them into the meeting room. With everyone inside, Squall took the spot nearest the door. Working clockwise around the conference table, he was joined by Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine, Zell and Quistis. He closed the door behind him and turned around to face the group. He cleared his throat and the atmosphere in the room tensed slightly as Squall went into official mode.

Looking around the room, he quickly assessed the initial mood of his friends. Not detecting anything of immediate concern, he began; "I need to update you on our current situation." It was going to be one of _those_ meetings. Most of them had been expecting it to come sooner or later. They'd had a few well-earned days of rest since completing their epic adventure, but deep down they all instinctively understood it wasn't going to last. "You know that on Wednesday we moved the garden from the harbour back onto its foundations and powered down the primary turbines." A few nods of recognition indicated that they were following so far. "Quistis instructed the maintenance crew to assess the state of things down there." He looked over at his colleague; "You probably have the most recent info on this, so I'll let you take it from here." With a slight movement of the hand, he ceded the spotlight to her.

After a quick glance at her clipboard, Quistis began relaying what she'd learned earlier that morning to the assembled group; "Yesterday the maintenance crew began a complete inspection of all the plant in the MD level. A few Funguars had made themselves at home, but they've been removed and it's all clear down there now." Quistis' eyes scanned from left to right behind her oval-shaped spectacles as she read the differing levels of interest on her friends faces. They weren't exactly hanging on her every word, but nobody looked excruciatingly bored either. "We've also drained the oil sump. You'll be pleased to know that whatever those huge grey things were you encountered last time, they were the only ones down there. There's no risk of running into any more of them as long as we keep the plant in good condition."

Squall frowned, recalling his last trip down to the MD levels and the creatures Quistis alluded to. "Oilboyles" he interjected, his tone flat and matter-of-fact. Quistis looked over at him quizzically, prompting Squall to clarify; "The grey things." She hadn't seen the creatures first hand. After their escape from the D-District Prison, Quistis been part of the missile base infiltration team alongside Selphie and Irvine. It was Squall, Zell and Rinoa who'd battled their way down to the bottom of the Garden's subterranean structure in an effort to try and find something… anything… that would protect them from the shower of incoming guided missiles. They'd encountered and defeated the freakish, tentacled grey monsters along the way.

Rinoa shuddered slightly as she remembered being attacked by the grotesque, slimy creatures. "I'm glad to hear it's clear down there" she said, pausing to swallow. "I don't want to see another one of those things as long as I live. They creep me out." Zell had also been reliving the encounter in his mind, adding; "Dangerous too… Nasty fuckers." Quistis tried to get the meeting back on track; "We think they must have gotten in via one of the old pipes from the surrounding substrate, but they've all been sealed up now. As long as the MD levels are inspected regularly, say… once a month… we shouldn't have that problem again." She looked down at her clipboard, trying to pick up from where she'd left off.

"Anyway… as for the condition of the plant itself… while the engineers in FH did a good job patching us up, some of the work they did was a temporary fix to get us up and running, instead of a full and complete repair. The initial advice I'm getting from the crew is that we'll need to ground the garden for a while in order to overhaul it properly." Losing the Garden's ability to move, at least on a temporary basis, was an important point they needed to understand. Quistis paused for a second to let that information sink in.

Ever mechanically minded, Zell's thoughts had strayed from the Oilboyle encounter to the machinery he'd seen down in the MD levels. He couldn't in all honesty say he understood how it worked, but it had left an impression on him. He reflected on how fortunate they'd been to actually get it working; "It ain't a surprise that we gotta overhaul the Garden. We didn't know this thing could fly until the missiles came straight at us... and the gear down there hadn't been looked at in decades. We were real lucky that whoever sealed the lower levels mothballed everything before they abandoned it."

Quistis nodded at Zell's observation. They _had_ been lucky. She continued; "Our crew also need time to get familiar with the plant down there. They had some basic guidance from the FH guys but we're a long way from having a full and complete understanding of how the garden flies. The crew intend to document everything as they go." Her report completed, she glanced at Squall, urging him to continue. Picking up where Quistis finished, Squall spelled out what that meant for the group; "The Garden needs to stay where it is for a while. There's no longer any direct threat, so I don't think we'll need to be airborne again in the near future. I'm hoping we can let the team get on with the overhaul uninterrupted... but there's always a chance we'll need to move the Garden. With that in mind, I've told them that they need to be able to have us back in a flight-ready state with no more than twenty four hours notice."

Selphie raised her hand to ask a question."What about the other gardens? Do we know what's happening with them?" He'd anticipated that question, although there wasn't a nice answer to it. Whichever way you looked at it, their situation wasn't great. He inhaled deeply, then answered; "Galbadia Garden is immobile and badly damaged at the bottom of Centra. It's being repaired, but it'll be a month at least before it's capable of moving. Even then, there's no guarantee that it'll be welcomed back into Galbadian territory with open arms… particularly if the Galbadian government knows about SeeD's agreement to help the Timber resistance. As we can't spare any of our own personnel to help their recovery effort, I've requested a team of engineers from FH be sent down to Centra to assist with speeding up the repairs. I'm still waiting for a response on that from Mayor Dobe. It's unlikely that he'll reply… and if he does, I expect he'll refuse."

Sensing Selphie's interest lay in where he was going next, he paused to think of how best to approach it. "Trabia Garden is in a bad state, we've all seen it first hand. The remaining staff at Trabia Garden are overseeing an assessment of whether or not the core of the site can be repaired, or whether we'd have to rebuild the whole Garden from scratch. The fact that Trabia Garden wasn't airborne when it was struck means there's a better chance of it being repairable... but if it's not, that's a major problem. As Quistis mentioned a minute ago, we still don't fully understand the Centran technology at the heart of the Gardens' propulsion system, so building a brand new garden that's capable of flight is beyond us right now. We should know the results of the Trabia assessment in a couple of weeks time."

Squall continued, trying to make it clear what all this meant in practical terms; "The other two Gardens being out of action means that Balamb Garden is our only operational unit. With that in mind, I've ordered all SeeDs not on active duty, all displaced students and staff to report here for reassignment unless they're repairing the other Gardens." There were two people in the room directly affected by that decision and Squall intended to leave them in no doubt of the fact. "Selphie… Irvine…" They both looked at Squall. "...that includes both of you. Your official base of operation is now Balamb Garden." They nodded in understanding towards Squall, then slyly looked at each other, both wearing a faint smile. That didn't escape Squall's attention. _Okay…_ he thought. _Something's going on there..._

Irvine hadn't made any secret of his attraction to Selphie. Squall and the others were well aware of that. He was pretty certain Selphie was aware of it too. He caught himself thinking; _She must know… mustn't she...? She can't have that much of a blind spot..._ Underneath all the pathological flirting, Irvine had at times acted like a lovesick puppy, hovering over Selphie's shoulder in Ragnarok's cockpit and following her around Balamb Garden wherever she went. The further thought occurred to Squall that if Selphie had grown tired of Irvine's near-constant affections, she'd have a pretty compelling case for harassment... one that would likely keep the Garden's HR staff busy for months. Weighing it up, at some instinctive level he didn't think their association was likely to end up as a saga of legal paperwork. Running back over the duration of their long adventure in his mind, Squall could recall a couple of moments that suggested Selphie might feel something for Irvine. Nothing conclusive, just little signs here and there, the odd sentence or remark that offered a rare glimpse into Selphie's inner psyche. For someone normally so talkative and open, her own romantic feelings were the one thing she found very difficult to discuss; and Squall definitely wasn't the type to go prying into other people's relationships. He'd been more than happy to let them work it out for themselves.

If Selphie did feel the same way about Irvine, something had held her back from letting things go any further - or at least it had looked that way for the last month or so. Over the past week however, things seemed to be subtly changing. The clearest sign that something might have developed between them came at the spontaneous party the Garden had thrown after the defeat of Ultimecia, where a slightly tipsy Selphie had worn Irvine's cowboy hat for most of the evening and had gotten visibly annoyed whenever his flirtatious tendencies were focused on anyone but her. Squall wondered if things had moved on in the five days since that celebration while they were returning from Fisherman's Horizon to Balamb. If that was the case, well, despite his inherent preference to stay out of it, he'd have to get confirmation one way or the other. His decision-making capabilities as squad leader relied on knowing a certain amount about the individuals under his command, including how they got on with each other… or not. If the two of them were in a romantic relationship, that could influence things considerably.

As it happened, there was something else Squall had meant to speak to Irvine about in private when they were done here… _if they were ever done here…_ He made a mental note to also bring up the subject of Selphie as carefully as he could after this meeting had finished. Nevertheless, that would have to wait. There was still a lot to discuss. Returning to the topic at hand, Squall continued; "We're expecting an extra fifty people to make their way here, but the guest quarters on campus can only cope with about twenty maximum. I'm planning to put the people we can't fit on campus in the Balamb Hotel. I've already spoken to the manager and secured a block booking for most of their rooms. Irvine… it'll be a few days until people start arriving, so you get a choice of one of the guest rooms in the Garden or a hotel room in town." Irvine smiled, then replied; "Here's good." Squall nodded; "OK. Go and see the quartermaster at some point today and ask him to allocate a room for you."

Irvine's digs dealt with for the time being, he addressed the group once again; "I also need to tell you about the situation in Galbadia. At the moment, we don't really know who's in charge of the country. With Deling dead, there's a vacuum left by the departure of both Edea and Seifer. The few contacts we have left in Deling City tell us that the army and the civil service are struggling to get the upper hand… and the army aren't as strong or as popular as they used to be. The fact they allowed the country to be usurped, first by a sorceress, then by Seifer, has weakened them and decreased their public support significantly. Observers on the ground tell us that there's a noticeable increase in the number of deserters. Even so, it's still too early to think that we're about to see the end of the military dictatorship there."

Squall's fingers tensed slightly as he drew closer to the primary reason he'd called everyone together; "In Timber… things aren't so chaotic, but the volatile situation in Galbadia proper has the occupying forces nervous and tetchy. And that matters because the three of us…" Squall's finger drew an invisible triangle in the air between Zell, Selphie and himself. "...are still under contract with the Forest Owls." That fact had been gnawing away at both Zell and Selphie in the back of their respective minds and, until now, they'd not had a chance to discuss it. Gesturing towards Rinoa, Squall added; "We talked about this last night… We both want to go back to Timber and complete the mission."

Rinoa looked at Squall to her right, then back at the rest of the group, intending to lay out her reasons; "I can't just forget about the Owls… about Timber… Life under Galbadian occupation there is intolerable. Everyone knows someone who's lost someone at the hands of the G-Army. I went to Timber and joined the Owls to try and help free the country. I can't just abandon it. The hope of independence is all some people have to cling to... it's the only thing that stops them giving up completely. I can't sit here, safe and comfortable on the other side of the ocean, knowing that the people I promised to try and help are still suffering." It was clear to everyone in the room how deeply she felt, and a few of them nodded gently in acknowledgement of Rinoa's resolve. Her explanation concluded, she looked at Squall, leaving a gap in the discussion for him to clarify his motivations, if he wanted to.

Squall was going to find this hard to talk about openly, but he pressed on, feeling he owed his friends in the room at least some kind of insight into his thinking; "Obviously…" he started, "...I'm not gonna let Rinoa walk back into danger alone." He was pretty sure that they'd all worked _that_ out at least. He looked at his feet awkwardly, and cautiously continued; "... and… I don't want that contract hanging over my head for the rest of my life either… gnawing away at me that I'd gone back on my word… like I had the chance to do something that might make the world a better place and I just walked away from it." He looked up from his shoes as Rinoa softly squeezed his left arm, and alternated his gaze between his fellow SeeDs; "All that training we went through, all the battles we fought just to make sure that the world continued to exist… I dunno… I guess I don't want things to just carry on being as shit as they always were before we went through all that stuff. Somehow, it feels like it's not good enough."

Looks of surprise abounded as the others in the room didn't really know what to make of Squall's comments. He wasn't in the habit of philosophising, and on the rare occasions he'd been pressed on this kind of thing in the past, Squall had expressed something approaching a detached, cynical nihilism; scoffing for example at the notion that their enemies could or should be considered evil. If the view he'd expressed just now was sincerely held by their Commander… and it very much sounded like it was… then he'd acquired a markedly different perspective on his role as a SeeD in relation to the world around him over the course of their recent adventures.

Squall looked at Zell, then at Selphie. "If you guys don't want to come with us, you need say so now... before we go any further." Selphie's face scrunched into a frown as she barked her answer firmly back at Squall; "SeeDs don't quit!" Pumped up by Selphie's enthusiasm, Zell mashed his gloved fist into his palm, following with; "Damn right! We have to go back and finish what we started." Squall nodded, before turning his attention to his two remaining colleagues in the room. "Quistis… Irvine…" He paused for a second, thinking how best to approach this. "I have no right to order you to be part of this operation..." He took another deep breath. "... so I'm not going to." They both looked a little perplexed at that. _Doesn't he want us on the team?_ Quistis found herself thinking, feeling more than a little hurt at the possibility. Squall was finding this difficult, but he ploughed on, finishing his pitch; "But… I am going to ask you to come with us… because... I think we'll need your help." He awkwardly shifted his weight from one foot to the other and rested his hand on his hip, concluding; "It's your choice."

Quistis was the first to reply, and she did so with conviction, her voice cracking slightly as strong emotions churned beneath the surface; "Of course I'll help Squall. I'm just as mixed up in this as the three of you. It was my fault that Seifer took off in a rage and ended up wrecking the original operation in Timber. It was me that everyone saw on TV trying to talk him out of what he was doing. I have to try and put that right." Squall frowned at the mention of Seifer, and sought to reassure his colleague; "That wasn't your fault and you shouldn't blame yourself for that. Seifer is the one who has to answer for his actions... not you." A hot bolt of anger shot through Squall's mind … _and if I ever catch up with him, fucking hell is he gonna answer for them._ Squall shook himself mentally. _Not gonna waste another second thinking about that arrogant dickhead…_ Refocusing, he turned his attention towards Irvine, who'd been waiting his turn to speak. "There's no way I'm gonna let you guys walk into enemy territory without yours truly" Irvine said in a determined tone. "I'm coming too... don't even think about leavin' me behind."

"You're both in?" Squall asked. They nodded. The sweet relief spread through Squall's body as a wave of hot endorphins. He wasn't prepared to say it out loud, but he didn't want to attempt this without them. In recent days Squall had reflected on the fact that the gang of six, working together, had grown into a tight-knit team. Breaking that team up now would make their task in Timber much, much harder. He also didn't want to prejudice their decision - if they were going to come to Timber, it had to be _their_ choice, not because they felt any sense of duty towards him or the office of Commander that weighed heavy on his teenage shoulders. Everyone in the room had given more than he'd ever ask on that particular score. Inwardly thrilled at Irvine and Quistis' decision to come to Timber, and with a fraction of a smile on his face, Squall simply replied; "Good."

Zell leant back against the wall behind him and let out a long sigh. "Liberating a whole country… man, that's a hell of a job." Squall looked over a Zell, rolling his head back to the point where it rested lightly on the door behind him; "I've been over and over it in my mind. Galbadia is the weakest it's been for twenty years, definitely the weakest it's been since Timber was invaded. I've checked every military map we have, looked at every intel report on Timber from the last two years. My gut feeling is that it should be possible to free the country from Galbadian rule, and I have a rough idea of how we could do it… but I can't pin down some of the details until we get back there. Any strategy we decide to run with, we're going to have to be on the ground in Timber for months, building up a network of trusted operators. An effective, united resistance… and we need to do that under the noses of the occupying forces, hiding in plain sight. It's not going to happen overnight."

Mulling over Squall's assessment of their task, a question popped into Selphie's head; "Does that mean we're gonna find Zone and Watts and get the Owls back together?" Squall nodded in confirmation; "Yeah, it does. The last time I saw them, they were on the White SeeD Ship." Their paths had unexpectedly crossed when Squall was searching for Ellone. "How long ago was that?" Quistis asked. Squall's eyes rolled towards the ceiling as he tried to piece together the timeline before giving his estimate; "About three weeks ago." Quistis bit her bottom lip and tilted her head slightly at the amount of time that had passed, then expressed her concern; "They might have moved on by now, could make it tricky to find them." Squall had to concede that Quistis had a point there. He ran through the possibilities, voicing his thoughts; "If they have moved on, the crew might have some idea where they were heading. Or they might still be on board. Either way, we need to track down that ship."

Squall shook himself mentally again. _We're getting ahead of ourselves..._ he thought. _There's more pressing problems to be fixed first_. He focused on Quistis, continuing his explanation; "Before we try and track them down, we need to figure a few things out." To his left, Rinoa shuffled slightly in discomfort at the suggestion that they wouldn't necessarily begin the search for her comrades straight away. "Like what?" she asked. Squall turned to face Rinoa, then answered; "Like fact that Quistis appeared on TV across the whole country while President Deling was being attacked. People won't forget that in a hurry. We're gonna have a hard time if she gets recognised every five minutes while we're walking around the city."

Quistis felt a little sheepish at Squall's observation, but she had to agree that it might cause difficulties. Confirming Squall's logic, she replied; "That's true. I remember at least one guy came up to me and said he saw me on TV the last time we were there..." she replied, recalling the incident on footbridge over the railway lines. A second later her SeeD training kicked in. Chastising herself after deciding the problem was actually pretty trivial, she followed up; "... but I don't think me being recognised in the street is the biggest problem we're likely to face. Dark sunglasses and a different hairstyle should be enough to solve that one."

Selphie punched the air as she yelled; "Yaaaayy! Makeover!" Rinoa looked at Selphie and clasped her hands in open-mouthed excitement for a couple of seconds while Squall mashed his hand into his forehead in frustration. _Oh god no…_ A slightly terrified Quistis wondered exactly what kind of bizarre transformation Selphie had in mind; _By the time she's done I'll have purple hair down to my knees and a hideous frock made out of an old tarpaulin or something._ Trying his hardest to ignore Selphie's comment and the look of rising panic in Quistis' eyes, Squall faced Quistis and tried to continue; "You're right, there are bigger problems. Top of the list is that we need to come up with a believable reason for being in Timber for an extended period of time, so we don't look suspicious." Zell thought he understood what Squall was getting at. Seeking confirmation, he looked at Squall and asked; "You're saying we need a cover story?"

Squall nodded. "Yeah... so we don't look like a team of SeeDs there to cause trouble. You've gotta remember none of us are from Timber, so we need to have a convincing explanation for why six foreigners are travelling all over the country with lots of equipment in tow. And that applies in the capital, in the countryside, in the forests... wherever we have to go." After a short pause, Squall let loose a sigh, conceding; "I've thought about this problem a lot, but I can't come up with anything that works." He looked around the room hopefully at his colleagues and asked; "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Zell blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Err... truck drivers?" Squall pondered Zell's suggestion for a second. _I can see why he'd say that, but…_ "That's exactly the kind of thing that'd be pulled over and searched at every checkpoint. Even if all our paperwork checks out, how many foreign teenage truck drivers do you think the G-Army come across on a daily basis? They'd smell a rat straight away. I'm not sure that's the way to go." Not being particularly attached or invested in his off-the-cuff suggestion, Zell simply shrugged, accepting that Squall's assessment was probably accurate. Back to the drawing board.

Irvine recalled one of their previous escapades where they'd had to hoodwink the Galbadians. "How about infiltrating the G-Army?" he asked, looking at Squall. "Pretend to be new recruits or something? That's how Selphie got us into the desert missile base." Squall frowned with scepticism, replying "... and they sussed you out after, what, an hour?" He shook his head. "I don't think we can just sweet-talk our way in... and besides, we're going to be there for months. It's a little too close to the enemy for my liking. Even if the resistance has people inside the G-Army, it's gotta be for intel only. Anything more is almost certain to get an inside man killed. I don't think we can infiltrate the occupying forces without jeopardising the whole operation."

Quistis was the next to voice an idea. "A film crew?" Rinoa caught on to Quistis' line of thought. "You mean like filming on location, that kind of thing?" Quistis shuffled her feet slightly, then answered; "Exactly. Pretend we're shooting a movie in the Roshfall Forest, or a nature documentary. It doesn't really matter." Squall looked at Rinoa and asked; "How heavily censored is that kind of thing in Timber?" She furrowed her brow in thought; "I'm not sure about censorship, but I'm pretty certain you'll need to apply for a load of permits before you'd be allowed to shoot." Her observation rang true. The overbearing hand of the Galbadian bureaucracy was legendary. Squall continued where Rinoa had left off "...which would let the authorities know exactly where we were and tie us to a predetermined itinerary... and that's no good. We need to be able to move around freely."

Across the table, Selphie sprung to attention like she'd been hit by a bolt of lighting. She had an idea; a good one, she thought. Unable to contain her excitement, her suggestion sliced through the air as a hyperactive squeal "Oh my god! I can't believe I didn't think of this before! We could pretend to be a band!" As the final word left her lips, Squall's stomach turned to ice.


	2. Red Firs And Spit

_Shit, not this again_...

Squall's head dropped to one side as he rested his hand on his hip. He could tell from the moment she first voiced the idea that Selphie had sunk her teeth firmly into it, determined not to see it dismissed out of hand like the previous suggestions they'd casually thrown around.

Giddy with excitement, she continued; "It would give us a reason to be moving around Timber all the time as a group with a load of equipment!" In principle, the suggestion had its advantages and, reluctantly, Squall had to admit to himself that this was the best idea he'd heard so far. However, there was the one fairly obvious flaw with it. Looking at Selphie and wearing a weary expression, he voiced his objection; "We'd need to be able to play well enough to convince people we were a real band." Squall let that hang in the air, hoping it would be sufficient for his colleagues to conclude that, no, this wasn't likely to work.

Running through the pros and cons in his head on the opposite side of the table, Zell thought Selphie's idea had a lot going for it. No one would bat an eyelid at them moving from place to place, and he wondered if courting a different kind of attention would actually help them avoid the wrong kind of attention from the authorities. When Squall's protest registered a few seconds later, he remembered. Zell switched his attention quickly back and forth between Selphie and Squall as he said; "But we've done it before! You remember the FH concert, right? That was a blast, we were awesome!" Zell gesticulated his arms wildly, as if to underline exactly how awesome he thought they'd been, then continued; "I'd definitely be up for doing something like that again!" Selphie bounced on the balls of her feet at Zell's positivity, her fists clenched with glee, replying; "Yeah! It was soooooo much fun!"

 _Oh great... now Zell's hyped up about it too._ Squall's stomach, already nursing a sense of cold dread, started to knot. This was in danger of spiralling completely out of control in a torrent of "Booyakas!" and "Woo-Hoos!" He didn't want to be negativity personified, shooting down every suggestion before it took off, but someone had to dampen this crazy idea down before it took hold. "Yes... I remember Fisherman's Horizon" he said, voice level and deliberately unexcited. _God, they were not 'awesome', they've got to know that already… haven't they?_ No choice. He'd have to spell it out. "Again… we'd have to be able to play convincingly." Squall looked straight at Zell and told him exactly what he thought the problem was. "Travelling around Timber pretending to be a band isn't going to work if we sound like absolute beginners who barely know one end of their instruments from the other. Fisherman's Horizon might have been fun but now you're talking about playing in front of a real audience, for money, and convincing them that we're actually a band. _If you're lucky_ they'll throw things at you… assuming there's even a venue out there who'll let you on stage in the first place." Zell rocked back with a start at that. "The hell? You saying we sucked?! We practiced all afternoon!" Squall raised both eyebrows in exasperation. This time it was his turn to underline the point he was making with his arms. His forearms tensed as he flung them in Zell's direction, retorting; "Yeah I believe you! It sounded like you'd practiced for an afternoon!"

That stung. The mood in the room took on a downward trajectory after Squall's barbed comment left his lips. A dejected Selphie looked down and began fiddling with her boots. Quistis crossed her arms and Zell exhaled hard, like he'd been winded by a blow to the abdomen. Irvine had been relatively quiet so far, but he wasn't having this. He knew they hadn't been great, but this was Selphie's idea… no, her _dream_... that Squall was busily throwing cold water all over. He looked over to his right at Selphie, nervously adjusting her footwear. She could clearly do with his support. He turned toward Squall and spoke up; "Hey man… we weren't _that_ bad! We got a recognizable tune going despite being amateurs." Squall's expression changed slightly at Irvine's comment. Although he couldn't consider the Fisherman's Horizon experience _pleasant_ (at least not in the musical sense…), he had to admit the makeshift ensemble did manage to muddle their way through a jig of some sort. Just.

Standing to Squall's left and watching the comments fly back and forth across the table, Rinoa could tell that he clearly didn't like this idea. They all could. Nevertheless she thought he was being unfair on his friends right now, without good justification. As far as she was concerned, Irvine's assessment was a fair one. What they'd managed to pull off in Fisherman's Horizon with very little time and not much more than sheer determination had been impressive, all things considered. "Come on Squall, cut them some slack…" she protested. "They pulled off a concert with hardly any time to practice or prepare. Nobody had blood pouring out of their ears and nobody jumped into the ocean to escape. It's really, really difficult if you've never played an instrument before." Rinoa thought about that for a second. "Well… I think Selphie might have…but I don't think the others had any musical experience." She looked over at Selphie to her left. Her friend was a coiled spring of nervous fidgety excitement, and she was hanging on every word. _Damn…_ Rinoa thought, _She really wants to do this._ For Selphie's sake, she was determined that Squall give this idea a fair hearing, in spite of his obvious misgivings. "And besides…." She looked back at Squall, playfully raised an eyebrow and gently poked him in the side. "...are you saying _you_ could have done any better? Huh? Mr Rockstar?" Squall's head dropped as he stared silently at the carpet.

Irvine and Zell smirked in unison and Selphie managed to stifle a squeak of laughter behind her hand as Squall's cheeks turned very slightly red. Feeling a small sense of accomplishment in taking Squall down a peg or two for his earlier harsh remarks, Rinoa thought to herself; _Yeah... that shut you up… you big meanie._ Wearing an amused look, Quistis shook her head slightly, then broke the silence in an attempt to get the conversation back on track;"Squall does have a point." Squall looked up from the floor, relieved that someone else in the room hadn't been swept away in a rush of excitement at Selphie's proposal. They all focused their attention on Quistis, waiting for her to explain. She clarified; "For the cover story to work, we would have to be able to play at a certain level. We couldn't be booed off stage every night then come back the very next night like nothing had happened and be booed off stage again. That would look _really_ suspicious. Even if every pub, tavern and music venue owner in Timber is a resistance member, they're not going to put on a useless band night after night."

Remembering the poor quality of live musical entertainment she'd come across in Timber, Rinoa smiled at the comic potential of being pelted with rotten vegetables by an angry audience. "Oh I don't know…" she said wryly. "I've seen some terrible bands play the Aphrora on a Saturday night. I remember one guy tried to use a leaf blower as an instrument." A disbelieving Selphie couldn't fight back the urge to blurt out; "What?! A _leaf blower?!_ " That particular evening of live entertainment in the pub hadn't ended well. Turning to face Selphie, Rinoa concluded her cautionary tale about the perils of using a two-stroke gardening tool in pursuit of artistic innovation. "Yeah... the staff dragged him off stage and threw him out after everyone's drinks went flying and tips jar ended up in the dregs bucket."

Zell, Selphie and Irvine burst out laughing at ludicrous scene Rinoa described, while Quistis' lips curled into a smirk at the corner of her mouth as she tried to keep her composure. On the other side of the table, Squall was getting exasperated. Attempting to bring things back under control, he interrupted the howls of laughter; "Alright… everyone..." He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and finger, attempting to focus. "At some point I'd actually like to get out of this room with a cover story we can use..." His hand returned to his side and he leaned back against the door behind him. Pausing for a second, he reconsidered his stance. Maybe he'd been too quick to dismiss their previous foray into performing live music. Now he'd try a different tact; "We need to figure this out properly. I understand it's not fair to judge Selphie's idea only by the Fisherman's Horizon concert... and I'm sorry about what I said a minute ago." That raised a few looks. Quistis seemed particularly wrong-footed. She found herself wondering; _when was the last time Squall sincerely apologised for… well… anything?_

Undeterred, Squall ploughed ahead. "Pretending to be a band as cover is only worth considering if there's enough musical talent in this room to make it work. No matter what the cover story is, I'm not bringing any other SeeDs into Timber with us when we go... even if they can play an instrument… or juggle… or ride a unicycle… or whatever the hell we end up deciding to do. They have their own assignments to deal with and besides, this isn't their fight. I'm not going to be the one to ask Xu to pull a SeeD off active duty so they can spend their time shaking a tambourine in a Timber juke joint. That's _not_ going to happen." There were a few nods of understanding. Deep down they knew it had to be them. They had to go back and finish what they'd started; and Xu could be pretty scary.

"So…" The other five looked at each other nervously as Squall's gaze brushed passed each of them from left to right, before he finally asked; "Who can play what?" Awkward shuffling ensued, followed by a distinct avoidance of eye contact. Squall exhaled tersely. He'd have to go round the group one by one, starting with what he knew. With Irvine's help, Selphie had organised the Fisherman's Horizon concert, and she'd been up on the stage playing… was it the fiddle? The guitar? If he was honest, he'd been preoccupied with something, or rather _someone_ else that evening and hadn't taken much notice of what was happening up on the stage. Anyway, it was Selphie's mad, hairbrained scheme they were discussing and it seemed appropriate to ask her first. _Start with the ringleader_ , he thought.

"Selphie?"

She looked over at him, enthusiasm only slightly dented by the thought of having Squall work out coldly and rationally whether the idea she'd blurted into existence minutes before, without really thinking about it, was actually feasible. The happy coincidence, happenstance really, that being in a band had been a dream Selphie harboured for as long as she could remember ratcheted up the personal jeopardy several notches. She knew what was coming. Squall was going to kick this idea, hard and repeatedly, until it either died or survived. If it survived, they might do it. They might be… she might be in a band. A fake band. No... scratch that... _a band_. "Fake" was neither here nor there, she didn't care about that. _Fuck._ Tiny beads of nervous sweat began to cling to her - too small for anyone else to notice, but she could feel it; along with the prickly heat sweeping over her skin and the microscopic tremors in her knees, imperceptible to anyone but her.

Squall was an expert at this - she'd never known anyone else savage an idea from every angle more completely than him. It was one of the qualities that marked him out as a natural leader during the missions they'd undertaken together. Out in the field she'd been struck by the clinical decisiveness he'd displayed right from the get go. His ability to break a problem down into its component parts, methodically attack each one in turn until he found an answer, a route through the mess, had gotten the group out of more than a few dire situations. In the beginning it had often appeared as though Squall just _knew_ , but as the days and weeks rolled past she'd learned that there was a process, a method, he went through. It was so well practiced, so honed, it seemed an intractable part of his persona.

His tendency to stay objective and professionally detached fit him like a glove most of the time but it had been pushed to the limit during the airborne battle between Balamb and Galbadia gardens. The cool facade that Squall normally wore had slipped during moments of extreme stress; and it had fallen completely when Rinoa had been trapped behind the advancing enemy, clinging by her fingertips to the crumbling side of the flying Garden for dear life. Operating at his limit, they'd seen the raw determination in Squall's eyes to win through, mixed up with the fear of what defeat might mean. At the moment when things looked at their worst, Irvine had angrily accused Squall of giving up on Rinoa and leaving her to her fate. For a split second, Squall's face had contorted into an expression that Selphie could only describe as primal rage.

Irvine hadn't seen it, but she had - and she'd never, _never_ forget it. She honestly thought Squall was going to turn around and rip Irvine's head off with his bare hands. Pushed to the ragged edge, the SeeD commander she counted as a friend could be absolutely terrifying, but he'd kept control that day. Just. He'd hung on by the very last thread, but he'd hung on… and they'd turned the course of the battle around. Selphie shoved that vivid memory away, turning her attention instead to the methodical, analytical (and slightly annoyed) Squall that was in the room with them right now, trying to work through the hugely complex logistics of freeing a country from military occupation. He was staring at her intently, expecting an answer.

Selphie gulped. _Here goes…_ "In my second year as a cadet I tried to start a band with my friend Krista. She had a great voice and wanted to be a singer; and I was learning the keyboard." Zell perked up again after learning that Selphie had tried to put a band together before. "Hey that's cool, we'd have a headstart if you've done something like this in Trabia. Did your band have a name?" She nodded. "Yeah, we were The Red Firs. In the beginning we couldn't find anyone else to play with us. There were only a few other people in our year group who played instruments; they all said they were too busy studying or doing extracurriculars. When it was just the two of us, we would try and play our favourite songs in my dorm room when my roommate was out. We had loads of fun but we were just messing around. We both wanted to bring in more people and form a proper band; and start playing gigs." Squall fished out the piece of information he needed from Selphie's explanation. "So…. the keyboard?" She nodded. "Yeah, I've tried other things but that's what I started with."

As Selphie recounted her experiences at Trabia Garden, Quistis had cast her mind back to the Fisherman's Horizon concert. She recalled how she'd had to get to grips with the piccolo, a kind of small flute. Not an easy instrument to learn in a hurry, let alone for someone who by her own assessment had no innate musical talent to begin with. Irvine had been in charge of allocating the instruments that day, and Quistis figured he assigned her the piccolo because she had the misfortune of being able to get a recognisable note out of it at the first attempt. The others hadn't managed to even raise a half-sensible noise from it, veritably turning red by blowing way too hard or drowning the thing in spit (mostly Zell's, which Quistis had diligently wiped off with her skirt whilst shooting her fellow SeeD a look of disgust - _he could really be gross sometimes_ ).

She'd assumed it had to be like blowing across the top of an empty bottle to produce a sound. Well, that approach had produced something akin to a musical note; but getting the desired melody out of the thing for the piece they planned to perform had proved to be much more of a challenge. It required a level of dexterity she didn't normally have to call upon when wielding a whip. She'd found a quiet corner round the back of the stage and attacked the problem at hand as though she were cramming for an exam. _Some_ progress came after she told herself that the intricate finger work demanded wasn't all that different from typing on a qwerty keyboard, and that the piccolo had a lot less keys to remember. She'd remained round the back of the stage engrossed in her task for what must have been hours... only stopping and rejoining the others when Irvine gathered them all back together for a final run through, a short while after the sun had disappeared over the rim of the giant solar dish.

Irvine himself had chosen to grapple with the violin that day; something Quistis suspected he'd found just as difficult as she'd found the piccolo. He'd also instructed Zell to tap the rhythm of the song with his feet in the absence of any kind of percussion, and finally he'd chosen to assign Selphie the acoustic guitar. What did Selphie say a second ago? The _keyboard_? There hadn't been a keyboard to hand on the day - there _had_ been a piano, but they'd not used it. From memory the decision to pair Selphie up with the acoustic guitar had taken at most fifteen seconds. She'd played through the main melody of the jig comfortably at the first time of asking, garnering appreciative nods of approval from her friends.

With that memory in mind, Quistis was curious. Presumably Selphie could play both? She inquired further; "If I remember right, you played the guitar at the concert in FH..." Selphie nodded. "That's right." _OK looks like we might be onto something here..._ Quistis thought to herself. She continued; "... and it didn't look like the first time you'd played it, I mean, unless you picked it up _amazingly_ quickly." Selphie shifted her weight from one foot to the other. As she did so, a trickle of nervous sweat run down the small of her back. "I had to switch to the guitar for a while back in Trabia. The Red Firs had a guitarist, Fran, but she had to give it up because the faculty told her she was falling behind with her studies."

They all knew of Selphie's musical aspirations to some extent. Quistis, Zell and Squall had each been harassed individually about joining the Garden Festival committee in the days before they'd left for Timber on their first SeeD mission to join up with the Owls. She'd told Irvine about her dream to be in a band while the G-Army were unwittingly transporting them to Fisherman's Horizon, trapped inside the wrecked Ironclad. Irvine, ever the optimist, had diligently filed that information away for later use. His idea of putting on a surrogate Garden festival to lift Selphie's spirits while the Garden itself was being repaired at Fisherman's Horizon had its origins in that moment. Rinoa had caught on pretty quickly too. She'd picked up on Selphie's clear enthusiasm for putting on the concert after the group's reunion in Fisherman's Horizon; although, in fairness, you could have seen it from space. She'd also noted Selphie's adorable habit of singing to herself while gazing out of the window of moving train, seemingly lost in a daydream as the motion of the carriage took her off somewhere else. The opportunity hadn't come up yet, but Rinoa had been meaning to tell Selphie how much she liked hearing her sing and how she thought she had a beautiful, sweet voice. Just maybe Selphie had a degree of musical talent to sit alongside the desire to perform that they already knew about. Perhaps this wasn't such a mad idea after all.

Zell's thoughts had been running along a similar line. Like Quistis, he was keen to confirm whether they did in fact have a multi-instrumentalist in their midst. "You can play the keyboard and the guitar? That's awesome!" Selphie's attention flittered between Quistis and Zell as she clarified; "Kinda… I mean I'm not very good on the guitar. I mostly stick to chords because they're pretty easy. It was enough to get through the FH concert but I can't really do anything more complicated than that." Squall decided to probe further, asking; "...and how about the keyboard?" That was Selphie's preferred instrument. "I've been playing the keyboard longer, so I think I'm better with that than I am with the guitar" she replied. Squall nodded slowly, taking it all in.

His eyes wandered to nowhere in particular as he started to form a model of a rock and roll band in his mind. If the theoretical ensemble proved to be viable, it was almost certain that Selphie would be part of it. In his imagination, Squall pictured a stage with a red backing curtain behind it, a stack of speakers either side of it and an array of amplifiers and monitors scattered here and there. He imagined it lit by distant spotlights from the back of an otherwise dark hall of some kind. Then he pictured Selphie, off to the left-hand side that stage, stood behind a keyboard, waiting for other bandmates to join her. Two imaginary microphone stands and an unoccupied drum kit towards the back of the stage denoted the vacant slots other people would have to fill if this was going to stand a chance of working. There was only one way to find out if it would. _Let's see…_

Rinoa looked over at Squall; he was deep in thought. He'd found out what he needed to know from Selphie and she could tell he was ready to size up the musical talent of his next target. Despite Squall's eagerness to move on, a nagging intuition told Rinoa that they'd not quite heard the full story from Selphie. Exactly how far had she gotten with this other band back in Trabia? While Squall was still deciding who to interrogate next, Rinoa cautiously slipped a follow-up question into the air; "It sounded like you managed to get other people involved though... with The Red Firs I mean?" she asked with an inquisitive expression. Selphie thought back to that happy time in Trabia, and nodded; "Yeah. Like I said, in the beginning it was just me and Krista, but then a couple of girls in the year below said they wanted to play with us. Fran could play the guitar and Eloise was learning to play the drums. It was cool having other people to jam with and it sounded soooooo much better! We used to practice twice a week down in the music room after the teacher, crazy old Mr Loggia, had finished for the day. He _hated_ our music, but he let us practice after hours as long as we didn't make a mess and tidied up after we finished. We carried on as a group of four without a bass player for about 4 or 5 months, into my third cadet year. That's when we lost Fran."

Selphie paused, scratching her right shoulder and looking around the room at her friends. "After she left, I filled in on guitar for a couple of months until we persuaded one of the boys in our year to join. Kiran. He could play guitar really well but he had a huge ego and a bad attitude. He drove me mad! Looking back now, I think he only agreed to join because he wanted to get with Krista, and that caused a lot of problems. I switched to the bass while Kiran was there because we wanted to really rock it up with guitar, bass and drums... but I really struggled with it. The neck was longer than my arm and the frets were so far apart." Squall made a mental note; _Bass…_

Selphie continued; "After a month there was a huge argument and Kiran quit. I went back to the keyboard after that. We hoped to find someone else to play bass and guitar but there wasn't anyone. I worked out I could play some of the low notes on the keyboard to cover the bass, but it still sounded weird with just drums and a keyboard. Another friend, Jana, plays the cello. You guys met her when we were up there; next to the big fountain. She got involved about 6 months ago and was going to perform with us at the talent show they hold at Trabia Garden every year before the summer break. That would have been our first public performance. We couldn't really play rock with just drums, keyboard and a cello, but we picked out a few songs that sounded OK stripped down to just those three instruments. We had to put things on hold when I got transferred to Balamb to take the SeeD exam..."

"But…" Selphie's voice wavered fractionally. "...I promised them I'd come back when it was over, so we could perform together at the talent show." She could feel her throat tightening up now. This story didn't have a happy ending. "Krista..." Her voice cracked on the shape of her friend's name. Squall and Irvine both knew why. After Ultimecia's defeat, the Garden had made the slow ocean voyage back to Balamb from Fisherman's Horizon, and in the small hours of the morning Selphie had opened up to Irvine about the friends and former bandmates she'd lost in the missile attack on Trabia Garden; and as the current commander-in-chief of the Garden's combat forces Squall had been the recipient of the final list of fatalities - 46 in total. Every name was painfully seared into his memory, including one _Krista Marie O'Neill,_ a trainee field medic… and one _Frančeska Bogdanovič_ , SeeD candidate defensive MG 1st class; presumably the "Fran" Selphie referred to earlier. The others didn't need confirmation of the facts to arrive at the correct conclusion. They'd seen the wreckage of Trabia Garden first hand, the shell-shocked and traumatised survivors, the makeshift cemetery…

Rinoa reached out and squeezed Selphie's hand reassuringly. She squeezed back hard and took several deep breaths through her nose. Squall swallowed as he awkwardly ran his fingers through his hair, then across his neck and left shoulder. There was no need to put her through the mill and make her relive this. Truth be told, he didn't want to relive this either. After the missile strike on Trabia Garden, Squall had vicariously witnessed his worst fear of losing his close friends come true for Selphie. Being dragged back to the bombed out memory of Trabia Garden in his mind tied him up in knots. He had no idea how she was able to carry on after that and he could only think how, had their places been reversed, what she'd been through would have absolutely destroyed him. He'd never forget the sight of his fellow SeeD, his comrade in arms, crumpled in a heap beside the hastily dug graves of her friends, shattered into a thousand pieces. Tears fell uncontrollably. She could barely speak. Revisiting the memory of it made his blood run cold and his legs waver slightly. Involuntarily he found his right hand gripping the knob of the door he was leaning against, knuckles whitening. How she'd put herself back together again after that and stayed her irrepressibly cheerful, energetic and optimistic self was beyond his comprehension. _Of the six of us_... he thought ... _she's the strongest_.

Squall could, at least, spare her this. Quietly, he said; "Selphie, you don't have to continue." She looked across the table at him with a sense of relief. Her eyes had welled up just enough to glimmer slightly under the rooms soft lighting. He continued; "I heard keyboard, guitar and... at a push... bass. Is that right?" She nodded forcefully in confirmation and loosened her grip on Rinoa's hand. From the opposite side, Irvine's arm slid gently around her waist and pulled her close. Side by side now, she propped her weight against Irvine's frame. Leaning in to him and still looking at Squall, she concluded her pitch. "I'm not super-brilliant at any of them but I'll practice and try really, really hard! If we work together we can make it happen… just like we did at FH. I know we can do it again, only bigger and better!"

Apparently satisfied that the wheels hadn't fallen off Selphie's mad idea at the first hurdle, Squall simply nodded and offered up a non-committal "OK." Much to Selphie's annoyance, he was giving nothing away. He could be incredibly frustrating at times like this with his stoic expression, thoughts buried deep beneath the surface, wrapped up in a seemingly impenetrable world of his own. She wasn't an expert in body language but she'd learned to recognise some of the involuntary reflexes Squall displayed when he was annoyed or frustrated. They'd cropped up a few times since the discussion began, but so far he'd kept them to a baseline minimum. Relieved that his attention was about to move elsewhere, Selphie lent further into Irvine and let out a deep breath as Squall's focus shifted around the room, sizing up which of his colleagues to interrogate next.


	3. Cognitive Calculations

"Quistis?"

 _Crap, why did he have to pick me next?_ She'd been dreading this. "Well... I said before the FH concert that I had no musical talent and I think I proved my point. There's _no way_ you want me up on a stage in Timber." Selphie looked over at her fellow SeeD, a little surprised at Quistis' negative assessment of her own abilities. She asked; "What are you talking about? You played the flute really well at the concert!" Quistis smiled; "It's nice of you to say that, but… I can't play an instrument. Not really. I'd never even tried before that day, and I think I only got through it by cramming like it was an exam. I've already forgotten it all… and I doubt you're going to want someone to play the flute… or piccolo… or whatever it was… in any case. It sounds to me like you're thinking of a straight up rock band." Squall restated the brief; "Any kind of band that's likely to be booked regularly in Timber would make a good enough cover story. I don't know Timber as well as Rinoa, but I'm guessing rock or maybe folk bands would get gigs pretty regularly across the whole country."

He looked over at Rinoa. "Is that right?" She furrowed her brow in thought, then answered;"Yeah, pretty much. You could maybe get away with different styles in the capital, but further out... the small towns and villages, you'd expect to see rock bands, singer-songwriters with an acoustic guitar and folk groups playing in pubs. There's not much call for electronic stuff or thrash metal out in the sticks." It sounded as though Quistis' earlier assumption had been correct. She looked at Rinoa and sought confirmation; "So a rock band _would_ be ideal then?" In Rinoa's opinion, that did seem to be the best option available to them. She nodded, then explained her thinking; "It would open the most doors and look the least suspicious, particularly if we're going to need to move around outside the capital." Squall clarified that straight away; "We are." Genres aside, Quistis wanted to bring this to a swift conclusion and rule herself out of performing. "Well… it's academic in my case..." she said. "... seeing how I can't play an instrument..." Her expression became a little more serious as she proceeded to throw a major complication into the fray, slowly adding; "...or _sing_." Faces around the room changed upon hearing that. _Of course_ someone was going to have to sing. They wouldn't be able to get away with playing instrumentals and remaining mute. That would look silly. Quistis finished up by making her position understood by all; "You're going to have to count me out."

Squall received the message loud and clear. With the casual wave of his right hand, he acknowledged Quistis' decision; "Alright, I get the picture." The imaginary stage in Squall's mind would have to remain populated by a solitary Selphie for the time being. It seemed Quistis wouldn't be joining her. While Squall organised his thoughts, the others were still reeling from the implications of Quistis' previous comment - at least one of them would have to sing. Busy categorising the information he'd collected so far in his mind, Squall's train of thought didn't appear to be disrupted like the rest of them. Irvine was the first to notice that, and thinking it a little strange, he spoke up; "What Quistis just said… Someone's gonna have to be the singer." Putting his internal deliberations to one side for a second, Squall looked at Irvine and responded; "I'm not worried about that" in a slightly dismissive tone. Confused looks abounded, demanding further explanation. Squall set out his reasoning; "I'm much more worried about the ability to play… or lack of... than I am about who's going to sing. Think about it. A singer doesn't even need a band behind them, they could perform anywhere with a handful of backing tracks. A band is different. You don't need to be the greatest singer who ever lived to front a rock band, but if the band sucks, the whole thing falls apart. Even a great singer will sound terrible in front of a shitty band."

A few nods slowly acknowledged Squall's logic and his analysis carried a tone of confidence from knowing that, in the highly unlikely event this thing ever got off the ground, there was already one person in the group who had a seemingly uncontrollable habit of bursting into song whenever a train began moving… and if he was honest… she wasn't actually that bad. He continued; "There's six people in this room, the chances are pretty good that at least one of you'll be able to hold a tune well enough to solve the problem of who's going to sing." Squall looked at Selphie who was still leaning into Irvine, still with an arm wrapped around her. Gesturing towards Selphie, Squall said; "You're always bursting into song whenever we take a train anywhere... maybe we start there." Selphie had _not_ expected that. For a moment she was open mouthed and lost for words as the implications of that sank in. Her mind began racing as she thought; _He wants me to be the singer? Fuck!_ Sensing her rising panic and feeling her pulse quicken, Irvine squeezed Selphie a little tighter in an attempt to reassure her.

Sensing from her expression that Selphie was a little alarmed at his previous comment, Squall continued; "If the band side of things looks possible, we can figure out who should sing by trying everyone out, one at a time." Selphie seemed to calm a little at that, releasing a breath she'd been holding unconsciously. It wouldn't _necessarily_ be her. Squall's thoughts returned to selecting his next interrogation subject; _Two down, three to go_ he thought to himself _._ It had been a 50% hit rate so far in the search for potential band members. If the next person Squall interrogated ruled themselves out like Quistis had, the idea of running around Timber pretending to be a band as cover was starting to look a little questionable. Considering his next step, Squall found himself thinking; _Let's finish with the girls, then move on to the guys._

"Rinoa?"

The group focused their attention on her. She looked down, her right foot outlining circles in the carpet. "My dad made me take piano lessons. _Classical_ piano lessons." She looked back up at Squall. "I hated them." Squall was somewhat taken aback at Rinoa's admission. _I had no idea she could play the piano, but I guess that makes sense…_ He decided to probe a little, asking; "How long for?" Her eyes rolled upwards and she bit her lip as she worked out the answer. _I think I was about… nine… when the lessons started? So that would be…_ "Seven years… I think." Squall tilted his head slightly at that, chewing the information over; _Seven years... there's a fair chance she's pretty good…_

Seeking to clarify, Rinoa continued; "I can read music but I struggle with sight reading sometimes if it's a complicated piece." Selphie's jaw dropped at Rinoa's admission that she could sight read. "That's amazing Rinoa!" she said in admiration. "I can't even read music. I tried to learn, but it's really, really hard!" Rinoa took on an exasperated look and replied; "Believe me it wasn't through choice. Seven years of having it drilled into my brain, some of it stuck in there… and I'm rusty as hell, it must have been at least 10 months since I actually sat down at a piano and played anything… and... I can't tell you how much I _hated_ those lessons. There was a room in the house with my mom's baby grand in it. I can remember her sitting there and playing it when I was very little. She played beautifully and I remember my dad told me that when I was a baby, she used to rest my cradle on the lid and play softly to send me to sleep. And then, every lesson I'd have to sit with the tutor at my mom's piano, and it would always remind me how much I missed her... and how she wasn't coming back..."

Rinoa paused for a second as an odd thought hit her. Questioning herself in her mind, she wondered; _Have I told them about my mom being a singer?_ She wasn't sure. It was a painful subject and she didn't normally like to talk about it, so there was a fair chance she hadn't said anything… but... if ever there was an ideal time to bring it up, this was it. Cautiously Rinoa explained; "My mom was a singer... Did I mention that before? I can't remember… Anyway, that's why we had a piano in the house." Selphie, Zell and Squall looked at each other uneasily, not sure how to proceed. From the strange collective dreams they'd shared at Ellone's behest, they'd each pieced together that Julia Heartilly was Rinoa's mother. The source of their unease lay in the fact that they weren't sure how much Rinoa herself knew of the back-story that they'd been privy to. If she _wasn't_ … well.. the rest of this conversation might get pretty awkward. Quistis came to the rescue. "I think we all assumed that your mother was Julia Heartilly."

Rinoa nodded, confirming; "Yeah, that's right..." but she couldn't help notice the subtle change of mood in the room, as if the temperature dropped very slightly. _They all went a little weird there for a second… what was that about?_ Quistis tried to explain in the most generic terms she could think of. "There's a large portrait of her in the hallway of your dad's mansion… and… well... you do look quite a lot like her…" There was something else too "...and you use her last name, _Heartilly_ , rather than _Caraway_." Rinoa couldn't pick a hole in Quistis' explanation. It stood up to scrutiny. She nodded in acknowledgement as her thoughts were dragged back to the emotional distress she'd endured across countless hours at the piano. Under her breath, she muttered angrily, "I don't know what the hell that man was thinking, making me sit through all those fucking lessons."

Squall looked over at Rinoa. They all knew she didn't get on well with her father, and Squall wondered if what they'd just heard from her went some of the way to explaining why. The tone she struck certainly suggested so. Either way, that was a conversation for another day. Sensing Rinoa's discomfort at recounting these memories, he tried to move the conversation on, summing it up with; "OK... You can play the piano." Rinoa looked back at Squall with a slight smirk across her face, answering; "Yes, I can." After a short pause, and with a heap of mock enthusiasm, she added; "If you need someone to play the first movement of Rosencrantz's 11th in C major, I've got it covered." She rolled a knowing look in Selphie's direction and returned to the earlier subject of needing to pick a suitable genre for their cover story to be effective, concluding; "...but that's not what we're going for here is it."

Selphie looked up from her boots and met Rinoa's expression. She remembered how Rinoa seemed to have an excited spring in her step when they'd been planning the concert while the Garden was being repaired. Now Selphie understood why Rinoa had looked a little hurt when she'd told her she wasn't going to be part of performance. For all the difficulty around the lessons she'd endured as a child, Rinoa _had_ to enjoy playing on some level or other. She'd cheered up quickly enough after the full details of Irvine's matchmaking master plan were revealed to her. The prospect of being Squall's date for the evening (not that he'd ever admit that's what it was...) seemed to take the edge off her disappointment at not being part of the performance up on the stage. Still leaning against Irvine, Selphie confirmed Rinoa's suspicions that, no, they weren't really looking to showcase a classical piano recital with; "Um… not really."

In response, Rinoa neatly summed up the reasoning; "There's not much call for classical pianists outside the major cities." Selphie had to agree, saying; "I guess not…" but in that moment another idea came to her. She explained; "...but if you can play the piano, that means you can play the keyboard... and I could switch to the guitar." Squall returned to the picture of a hypothetical band on an imaginary stage in his mind's eye. He moved Selphie from behind the keyboard and placed her instead on the other side of the stage with a guitar slung over her shoulder. Then he put Rinoa behind the keyboard where Selphie had started out. _Hmm… does that work?_ Squall's inner conceptualisations were abruptly halted by Rinoa's next contribution to the discussion; "I did also try to learn the guitar." _What?_ That bombshell derailed Squall's train of thought completely. _Is she kidding?_

Selphie's eyes widened with excitement. "Oh my god! We could both play the guitar then!" With a clenched fist, she added; "We're gonna rock soooo hard!" A few of the group struggled to picture it, but another permutation was added to Squall's cognitive calculations. His response wasn't as manic as Selphie's… _she said she'd tried to learn the guitar, she didn't say she'd actually succeeded..._ Putting his thoughts back together again, he leaned back against the door, relaxing slightly, and dug a little deeper, asking; "Acoustic or electric?" Rinoa answered, slightly timidly; "Electric." A few more eyebrows raised at that, including one of Squall's. He could tell from the tone of her response however that this wasn't an area of confidence for her like the piano seemed to be. She elaborated; "My dad nearly choked on his breakfast when I told him I wanted a guitar for my 16th birthday." Squall smiled slightly and Irvine let out a low chuckle at the thought of Rinoa tormenting the General with an out of tune guitar and tinny, horribly distorted little practice amp turned up as loud as it would go. Irvine looked up from beneath the brim of his hat, sly grin on his face, then remarked; "I bet the old man just _loved_ that."

Rinoa smiled, recalling her father's reaction. "We had a massive argument over it. I didn't want to do the piano lessons any more but he insisted I had to keep them up if I wanted the guitar. He wouldn't swap the piano lessons for guitar lessons either… _and_ I wasn't allowed to play the guitar after 8pm ... _and_ I had to buy my own amp. In the end I agreed to his stupid conditions. If he was determined to make me carry on with the piano lessons regardless, I figured it was better to have at least one cool instrument I was actually into." She smiled... "Also it had the added bonus of driving my dad round the bend."

Squall was curious at this point. He surmised that Rinoa's previous experience with the piano would have helped, in some way at least, in learning a second instrument. Selphie's suggestion that both she and Rinoa wield a guitar depended on how adept Rinoa was with the instrument. He asked; "How did you get on?" Rinoa struck a pensive expression, then answered; "I only had it for a few months before I left for Timber, so I didn't spend a huge amount of time practicing. It's hard to say without it in front of me but I think I remember a few chords… and how to do barre chords. I _definitely_ remember the cramp in my left hand and my fingertips being red raw." Squall smiled slightly at Rinoa's comments as the stage in his mind changed again. The keyboard that Rinoa had in front of her vanished and now she held a guitar. Two girls, two guitars, either side of the stage. _This is looking a bit more like it,_ Squall thought. _It's only half a band, but maybe… maybe…_ He nodded slowly, taking stock of what he'd learned so far, then concluded Rinoa's interrogation session with a simple "OK."

"Zell?"

He looked across the table at Squall. Recalling the handful of times they'd had to drop by Zell's house in Balamb Town, Squall said; "I remember seeing a guitar at your house in town, is it yours?" Zell shook his head. "Nope, it's my Ma's." An assortment of surprised looks around the room suggested that wasn't the response any of them were expecting. Zell explained; "She loves folk music." Still, that was another string to Ma Dincht's bow. She really did seem to be a woman of numerous, wide-ranging talents. Squall made a mental note to ask her about it next time they had a reason to drop by. Zell continued; "I remember she'd play the all the old trawlermen's songs when I was a kid. That was the kind of music I grew up listening to. We didn't even have a hi-fi system in the house until I was about eight. If we wanted music, Ma would play it. I wasn't allowed to touch the guitar though. Even now she gets a bit nervy if I pick it up."

Still processing the news that Ma Dincht was an accomplished folk guitarist, Squall sought to confirm where this was heading; "So... you can't play the guitar then?" Zell shrugged apologetically, following up with; "No, sorry." Somehow dissatisfied with the answer Zell offered at some gut level, Squall kept digging; "Any other musical abilities we should be aware of?" Hands in his pockets, Zell shook his head. "Nope." Squall frowned at that. Something didn't quite fit. _What did he do in FH then?_ "You were on stage with the others at Fisherman's Horizon, right? Didn't you play an instrument then?" Recalling that evening, Zell smiled, then answered; "I tapped out the rhythm with my feet, like this…" He stomped on the meeting room floor, giving a brief reprise of his previous role. Stopping as he realised the soft carpet deadened any acoustic potential, he added; "I think Selphie put a microphone down by the stage floor so you could hear it over the sound of the other instruments." Selphie nodded at that; she had mic'd up Zell's feet. "That's right" she said. "We plugged it into the desk and put it through the PA." Irvine looked at Zell to his left and shared his thoughts on his friend's performance back then; "I thought you held the tempo pretty steady... and you kept going for a long time. You must have been dog tired afterwards. My arms hurt like hell when we finished and I wasn't doing anything even half as energetic as you." Zell shrugged dismissively, then brushed off the difficulty with; "Aaahhh… it wasn't too bad. I've put up with a lot worse in training."

He scratched the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish, and continued; "When we were planning the concert, I hoped... maybe... there might have been a drum kit there. I've never played the drums, but I've always wanted to try. All you gotta do is hit things in time with the music. I asked my Ma for a kit years ago, but she wasn't having any of it; _You're too loud as it is! Think of the neighbours! Choose something else!_ So I got my first T-Board instead that March... which was really cool... but not much help to us right now I guess." Quistis smiled at that. "No I guess not. And besides… you've caused enough carnage with that T-board of yours as it is." Squall pondered what he'd just heard from Zell, thinking; _He does seem to have a natural talent for hitting things..._ At the back of the imaginary stage in Squall's mind, a dimly-lit drum kit appeared with Zell sat behind it. _Alright, just one left..._

"Irvine?"

Irvine looked over at Squall from beneath the brim of his hat. He still had his arm around Selphie, who looked as though she'd settled in for the duration. Her right arm was resting on top of the arm Irvine had wrapped around her waist. Her left forearm, pointing upward, found itself shrouded by the right-hand lapel of Irvine's long sand-coloured jacket, with her fingers reappearing at the notch near the collar, gripping it softly. _Yeah…_ Squall thought _...she doesn't wanna move any time soon_. Irvine took a slow, deep breath and began; "Made a few diddley-bows when I was a kid from whatever junk we could find. Baseball bats, old broom handles, chicken fence wire, copper cable… you name it. It was just something to pass the time. Never had a proper instrument though." Irvine smiled as a nearly-forgotten memory came back to him. "I used to use an old brass lighter I found as a slide. It sounded pretty good. I'd sit out by the railway tracks, trying to get a tune out of it."

A confused Rinoa looked at Irvine, then asked; "What's a diddley-bow?" Irvine turned his head slightly to face Rinoa, and attempted to describe the instrument in question; "It's like a one string guitar, made from anything you can get your hands on. Can be as simple as two nails hammered into a plank of wood with a wire strung between. It's kind of a tradition in the dust bowl I guess. There's not a whole lot of fancy instrument shops out on the Montarosa, and even if there were, there ain't much money around for folks to spend thousands of gil on flash guitars. If you wanted to entertain yourself when I was a kid, you had to get creative." Intrigued, Rinoa pressed Irvine for further details, just as Squall had done with Zell a moment ago. She wondered; "So… what did you play at Fisherman's Horizon?" Irvine couldn't help let slip a slight chuckle as he answered; "Heh...the violin."

For a second he found himself wondering what impression that would have on the ladies. _Not sure if that helps or hinders…_ He dismissed that thought with a glance down at the girl currently sharing his personal space. He'd come up with the basic plan for a concert in Fisherman's Horizon to impress Selphie, and right now she was pressed up against him, closer than she'd ever been. She was so close he could smell her hair. The scent was like... sunlight. He could feel her warmth, and the soft curves of her body, through his jacket. _You're in the middle of a strategy meeting buddy. Now is NOT the time. For god's sake, concentrate…_ Attention refocused, clearing his throat, Irvine continued. "Never played anything like that with a bow before. It took a while to figure out the technique, but I think I got the hang of it eventually. It's like Quistis said, we had to practice like crazy that afternoon."

Squall came back; "Can you play anything else?" Irvine replied "Nope" with a slight shake of the head. Squall's expression softened slightly as an idea came to him. Looking straight at Irvine, he instructed; "Hold out your left hand and fan it out as wide as you can… like this." To illustrate what he meant, Squall held out his left hand in Irvine's direction and spread his fingers and thumb as far apart as he could, forming a fan shape. If you took the middle of his palm as the centre, the radius of the fan from Squall's thumb to his little finger was roughly 180 degrees. He then gestured towards Irvine to do the same. Irvine looked a little confused but, continuing to hold Selphie with his right arm, he proceeded to take his left hand out of his jacket pocket and do as instructed. A few baffled faces abounded. At full stretch, Irvine was also just about able to fan a semicircle.

In Squall's mind, Irvine appeared on the imaginary stage, towards the back, adjacent to the drum kit that Zell sat behind. Like Zell, he was dimly lit, face shadowed by his stetson. Slung around his neck was a bass guitar. Selphie was the only one to cotton on to the significance of Squall's request. _Oh, no way… is he thinking what I think he's…_ From her vantage point pressed up against Irvine's right flank, Selphie had a clear view of his hand. It was large but in proportion for a man of Irvine's 6'1 height. The wide fan he'd been able to create, much like Squall had, was notable. She looked over briefly at Zell who was also subtly trying to spread his fingers as wide as he could, with a look of complete bafflement on his face as to what this had to do with anything. He wasn't quite able to match the semi-circular spread.

Having silently examined Irvine's left hand for a few seconds from across the table, Squall simply nodded, and Irvine returned his hand to his pocket. Quistis, Zell, Rinoa and Irvine all looked somewhat puzzled at what just transpired. Selphie on the other hand looked deep in thought, eyes unfocused on anyone or anything in the room _...but the only way he'd know that is if he…_ Quistis looked over towards Squall and asked; "So what do you think? Is this a..." Selphie cut her off abruptly in mid-sentence; "Wait!" She quickly slipped free of Irvine's hold and bounced back onto both feet, a fact that disappointed him enormously. Standing bolt upright, she clasped both hands together in front of her and voiced her objection; "We haven't asked everyone yet!" Rinoa immediately realised what Selphie meant. With a broadening smile on her face, she said; "Yes, Selphie's right! We haven't heard from everyone yet…" She turned to her right; "... _have we Squall_?"

 _Shit._


	4. Payback And Back Pay

He'd nearly got away with it, nearly been able to draw the discussion to a close without subjecting his own musical abilities to cold, clinical analysis... but now they were all looking at him, expecting an answer. Squall glanced around the room, trying to read the varying expressions on his friends' faces. Rinoa wore a cheeky, mischievous look, but Zell and Quistis weren't expecting this to lead anywhere. They'd known Squall longer than the others and had no knowledge of any musical inclinations their commander might have had. Quistis, as a self described "expert Squall observer", unconsciously assumed she'd have been aware of any musical talent Squall might have been able to bring to their current discussion - and if she'd known of any, she'd have spoken up as soon as Selphie first voiced the idea. Consequently, she was pretty sure this was a dead end. Still... she was enjoying the sight of Squall put on the spot and given the same grilling she and all the others had just received from him. Judging by Irvine's body language, he was carrying a sense of profound disappointment that he no longer had his arm around Selphie. In any case Squall couldn't read Irvine's facial expression in the shadow of his stetson. Selphie by contrast was the only one who displayed any real visible sign of anticipation at Squall's answer. And the question was still looming in the air. The longer he left it the more awkward it would get. _No way around it. Just spit it out._

He exhaled hard, then said; "I can... play the guitar…" Rinoa and Selphie looked at each other, eyes wide and respective jaws dropped open. Not wanting them to get carried away, Squall quickly applied a caveat; "...a bit. I mean, sort of." A shocked Quistis silently mouthed " _Did you know about that?_ " to Zell, who raised his hands slightly and shook his head in disbelief back at her. With her hands on her hips, Rinoa turned around to face Squall, wearing an expression that conveyed _exactly_ what she was thinking. She protested; "I can't believe you didn't tell us! You were gonna let us walk outta here without saying anything, weren't you!" Squall's inner monologue couldn't resist the draw of the sarcastic; _That was the plan, yeah. Thanks for dropping me in it._

Next to Rinoa, Selphie had her open mouth covered with both hands. On the first day she'd met Squall, she'd chased him around the quad in Balamb Garden trying to cajole him into helping with the Garden festival. He hadn't said a word when she'd asked him outright if he played an instrument. He'd stayed silent and kept on walking in the hope that someone else would quickly find themselves at the epicentre of Selphie's garden festival hurricane. Well, now she knew the answer to that question. They all did. Once she'd worked through the initial, overpowering rush of excitement, Selphie pointed at Squall and yelped "I knew it! I knew you had to play something! You were sizing up Irvine's hand to see if he could play the bass weren't you!" Squall exhaled again, then offered a single nod of confirmation and a defeated, despondent "Yeah."

Selphie's mad idea had been clobbered and battered from all manner of different angles. It was scratched, bruised and bleeding, and just when she thought Squall had succeeded in kicking it to death, it inhaled once again. It still lived. The idea stubbornly remained, given shape and form in Squall's mind as an imaginary stage, showcasing a theoretical, thus far entirely silent, rock 'n' roll band. Off to the far corner of that stage, Squall reluctantly added an imaginary version of himself to the scene, gaze fixed firmly on his black boots, guitar draped awkwardly over his frame. In his mind's eye, a critical voice echoed around the imaginary hall and stage as Squall rebuked himself; _You absolute idiot…_ he thought. _How the fuck did you allow yourself to get roped into this?_

The giddy, sickly-sweet enthusiasm filling the room began to press down on Squall like a bad hangover. Rubbing his forehead with his left hand in an attempt to hold back a stress-induced headache, he voiced his concerns; "Look… don't get too excited." His hand parted company with his forehead as he gestured first towards Rinoa, then toward Selphie, explaining; "We've got two people who've played the guitar for a few months..." He pointed towards Zell "...someone who's never played the drums…" And finally, Squall pointed towards Irvine, continuing his summary of their situation; "...and someone who _might_ be able to play the bass... assuming they even _want_ to learn." Keenly aware of how eager Selphie was for this idea to get off the ground, Irvine jumped straight in and answered that before Squall could get another word in edgeways; "I do."

For a split second, Irvine had the chance to feel a little pleased with himself. He'd taken something of a risk in putting his arm around Selphie earlier, particularly in front of everyone like that; and now he started to wonder if he'd managed to ingratiate himself further into Selphie's good books by agreeing to go along with her idea at the first opportunity. _That ought to…_ "Gmphrh!" Irvine didn't have time to finish his thought as Selphie jumped into him and momentarily crushed him in a short but forceful bear hug. She let go and returned just as quickly to the spot where she'd been bouncing up and down with excitement. The guttural sound Irvine involuntarily released when she barrelled into him raised a few smiles of amusement. Recomposing himself, he straightened his hat as he thought; _I'm gonna be feelin' that tomorrow morning_.

Zell was next to confirm his intentions. "Yeah count me in too." Not wanting to be blindsided by an ecstatic yellow blur, he raised his right hand into the air as he finished his sentence, inviting a high five. *SMACK* _Owww….. damn... maybe I should have just let her bear-hug me…._ Moving his fingers, partly to make sure they weren't broken, Zell explained his reasoning to the others; "I've wanted to learn the drums for years and this mission is the best excuse I'm ever gonna get to actually do it." With a wide grin spreading across his face and his clenched fists shaking with adrenaline, he followed up with; "This is going to be a total blast!"

Standing between a pumped-up Zell and a deflated Squall, Quistis' thoughts had turned back to the assessment of their situation Squall had offered up a few seconds ago. Selphie and Rinoa had confessed to having some level of musical ability or experience but it sounded like Zell and Irvine would be starting out as absolute beginners… well... depending on how good Irvine was with that weird one string _diddley-bow_ thing of his. She tried to piece it all together in her mind, running back over what they'd discussed. _Sounds like Zell would be behind the drum kit… Irvine's going to try the bass… and…_ And then it got complicated. In theory both Selphie and Rinoa could play either the keyboard or guitar, and Squall could also play the guitar. At that point it dawned on Quistis that a key piece of information was still unknown at this point. _How good was Squall?_ Selphie and Rinoa both claimed only to have a couple of months experience with the guitar, but Squall hadn't shared his level of familiarity with the instrument. He'd just said he could play "a bit".

They'd need more detail than that if they were going to figure this thing out. "Squall..." He looked over at Quistis, with a look of resignation and dread at the direction this discussion was going. "How long have you played the guitar for?" He took a deep breath and did the math in his head, answering; "Four... four and a half years." From the other side of the table, Irvine smiled and looked up at Squall, then let loose a low cackle; "He he he… Looks like you're on guitar buddy!" Squall involuntarily raised his palm to his forehead in response to Irvine's observation. _Fucking hell._ Quistis exhaled long and slow, leaning back against the wall. She was still a little dumbfounded that Squall had kept the fact that he could play the guitar to himself for such a long time. Yes, he was a private person by nature, but surely she'd have clued in to the fact that he played an instrument at some point, wouldn't she? After all, this would have been all through the peak of her infatuation with Squall. She'd thought about him a _lot_. With the information now common knowledge to all in the room, it did seem as though she hadn't been particularly observant.

She looked over at him, mid facepalm, and shot him a look of incredulity. "Four and a half years… and you can play _a bit_? I know deflection when I see it Squall... particularly when you're the one doing the deflecting. I reckon you can play _a lot_." Underlining her sense of shock, she proceeded to throw in a further comment; "I can't believe I didn't know." As Squall's hand slowly slumped back to his side, he let out a sigh of exasperation. If he was being completely honest, Quistis' last comment annoyed him a little. He found himself thinking; _What right does she have to know what I do in my own time anyway?_ Wearing a slight frown, he protested; "Is it so hard to believe that you wouldn't know everything about me? It's not like I shouted it from the rooftops or anything. I didn't want people to know. I never wanted to play in front of an audience or be in a band or anything like that. And if people knew, I'd just get harassed about it all the time. Particularly by…" A momentary flashback of Seifer's gunblade glinting across Squall's peripheral vision shot through his mind. "...you know who."

There was a little more to it than that though, but Squall hesitated. He'd never felt comfortable talking about himself, on the rare occasions he was compelled to, it inevitably generated feelings of awkwardness and embarrassment. He knew things were different now though, after everything that had happened. _Come on…_ he told himself. _These are your friends and the love of your life. You can just say what you think._ The liberty he felt, the opportunity to genuinely be himself without a choking concern of how others would perceive him, without the looming fear of unwanted social consequences, all that was still very new. But he had to admit, among this tight-knit group, that freedom was there where it hadn't been before... and it was inherently inviting. Tentatively, cautiously, he continued; "I… I pick up the guitar when I just want to zone out and stop thinking... It's one of the few things I've found that helps me do that."

Rinoa looked at him with a reassuring smile. "It helps you relax?" Squall looked at her, considering her question, then a few seconds later replied; "Kind of... yeah." _Crap…_ he thought to himself, _is that what's at the root of it all? Escapism...?_ Rinoa didn't seem daunted by his answer. She followed up sympathetically; "I think I know what you mean. Music can take you off somewhere else. I guess we've all wanted to be somewhere else at some point… I know I have." Deep in thought now, he contemplated Rinoa's words. _I guess she's right… There were plenty of times I shut the door, told my roommate to fuck off, and played and played and played… God… It can't just be something as stupid and childish as that… Can it?_ There were plenty of other vehicles available to escape reality if he'd wanted to use them; films, books, video games, drugs and alcohol to name but a few. Squall grasped frantically around his memory, looking for the behavioural pattern that drew him back to the guitar again and again. His face changed slightly as he pieced it together and the stark realisation hit him. _I think… until Rinoa came along... it was the only thing that could make me feel anything close to joy._

Unable to recognise the expression Squall wore as he stared right through the meeting room wall, Rinoa softly asked; "You okay...?" The question snapped Squall's attention back to the present. He looked over at Rinoa again, answering; "Uh… yeah…" He tried to pick up the conversation where he'd left it; "I thought that if people knew I played, they'd just give me shit about it, expecting me to.. well.. I don't even know what... strum like an idiot around a campfire maybe. I didn't want it to change into something else. That release valve got me through a lot... and I didn't want to risk losing it." Rinoa squeezed his hand and smiled at him, replying "I understand" in an empathetic tone. She lent a little closer and quietly added; "You know you don't have to do this if you don't want to." Alarm spread through Squall's mind as he instinctively balked at the suggestion. _There's no way I'm letting everyone down._ Although he was appreciative of Rinoa's concern, he replied; "No, I'll do it…" before adding a qualifier to his answer; "... _If_ this is the cover story we end up choosing, that is."

Irvine neatly summed up their situation with; "I'm not hearing any better ideas." Squall let out a long sigh of frustration and shook his head. "It's a ridiculous idea… and it probably won't work… but… Irvine's right… it's the best idea we've got." Selphie clasped her hands together in delight and inwardly screamed; _Oh my god! We're actually gonna try this!_ Squall looked around the room, then asked; "Is everyone prepared to give this a go?" Nods of confirmation were received from Rinoa, Selphie, Zell and Irvine. Quistis was the only one to hesitate. A couple of seconds elapsed, then she voiced her concerns; "What about me? I don't think I'd pass for a roadie… and before any of you even think of suggesting it, I am _not_ pretending to be a groupie." A few of the group had to stifle a laugh at that suggestion. Trying to put Quistis' mind at rest, Squall answered; "We'll think of something. Manager... sound engineer… I don't know yet but we'll work something out. We're not leaving you behind in Balamb. We need you for this mission." With her concerns at least partly allayed, reluctantly Quistis nodded, confirming her agreement with a simple "Alright."

Just as Quistis had done a minute ago, Rinoa attempted to run through the potential pairings of people and instruments in her mind - and she quickly reached the same impasse. Explaining the gap in her understanding, Rinoa said; "I'm still confused about who's going to be playing what." She looked at Squall, then at Selphie. It was Selphie who answered first; "We need to try out all the options and see what works… like we did in Fisherman's Horizon." Squall followed up; "Selphie's right. At the moment this is all theoretical. We won't know what works… or if _anything_ works at all… until we try it out. So before we go any further with this, we need to find somewhere we can try this idea out in private." Squall was still unconvinced this would actually work and was keenly aware that it could prove to be a massive waste of time. And time mattered. The situation in Timber was currently very fragile and fast moving. They needed to know as soon as possible whether Selphie's idea stood a realistic chance of working, as they could be using up valuable time which might be better spent preparing for a different cover story or strategy.

Squall explained; "We should run this idea by someone who can give an independent view of whether it'll be a believable cover story or not. I don't wanna spend weeks on this if we can say in a couple of days that it's not going to work." Quistis turned to face Squall. "Have you got someone in mind?" As a matter of fact, he did; "Instructor White." Quistis had to think for a moment; _Instructor… White? Oh… of course! She's the music teacher on the academic staff._ Quistis nodded back at Squall in understanding. Come to think of it, Quistis had barely exchanged more than a few words with Instructor White in the twelve months she'd been an instructor herself. There was an operational division in the Gardens between the military and academic instructors on staff, with different reporting lines and accountabilities. Occasionally there would be crossover in certain areas where the two sets of instructors had cause to collaborate, but the two groups did remain largely independent of each other on a day-to-day basis. The other long-term student of Balamb in the group, Zell, could only claim scant knowledge of Instructor White as well. He hadn't chosen to pursue music as an academic subject, so only really knew her by sight from the occasional passing encounter in the Garden's numerous corridors.

Quistis asked; "Should we call her up here over the intercom?" Squall looked at his watch. _15:34_. _She'll be in the middle of teaching a class, but it'll be finished at 16:00…_ He shook his head, then answered; "No." He was keen to avoid attracting any kind of attention to the idea they'd been discussing, and summoning one of the academic instructors up to the bridge over the intercom would do _exactly_ that. A different, subtler approach was required. Scratching his right forearm with his left hand, Squall said; "I'll go talk to her."

He looked around the room again at the rest of the group. They were in various states of excitement, ranging from Quistis, who exhibited a professional relief that they'd seemingly landed on a cover story that might work, all the way up to Selphie, who looked as though she might literally burst with glee at any moment. _Finally…_ he thought ... _we can get out of this room. It's like an oven in here._ Indicating his intention to draw their meeting to a close, he made a suggestion to the others; "In the meantime you should go to the library, look through the music section and see if you can find anything that might help make this work." Squall looked at his watch again. "I'm not sure exactly how long I'll be, but let's all meet up again in the library at... 16:30."

With that, Squall reached for the door handle, twisted it and pulled. A gust of cool air flushed into the room from the 3rd floor atrium, refreshing everyone inside. It had gotten pretty hot in there as they'd neglected to open a window while they debated and deliberated. The outside temperature didn't help matters either. The bright summer sun had crept round the side of the garden as they'd been talking, gradually bathing the windows in more and more light, resulting in the room's temperature creeping slowly upwards. Just as he was enjoying the rush of cool air, Squall remembered; _Crap, still gotta talk to Irvine._ Quistis stepped out into the atrium, followed by Zell. Squall continued to hold the door as Rinoa and Selphie brushed past. As Irvine was about to make his way out of the room, Squall asked; "Irvine can I talk to you in private for a minute?" in a low, quiet tone.

Irvine was taken a little by surprise. His focus was fixed intently on a very excited Selphie who walked quickly towards the elevator ahead of the others with a spring in her step, eager to get down to the Library. He looked over at Squall, who had switched once again into official mode. Irvine nodded, thinking to himself; _He's not gonna take 'no' for an answer..._ Through the open door, Irvine called out "I'll catch up with you guys..." to the rest of the group waiting for him. On hearing that, Quistis pressed the button for the elevator and Selphie gave a wave in Irvine's direction. The hinges squeaked slightly as Squall closed the door once again.

Looking at Squall with some apprehension, Irvine asked; "What's up?" Feeling inherently uncomfortable and avoiding direct eye contact with Irvine, Squall put a hand on his hip and answered; "There's two things I need to talk to you about." Still wearing a baffled expression, Irvine urged Squall to continue with; "Okay… shoot." Squall took a deep breath, then elaborated; "The first thing… money." Irvine's eyes narrowed a little in confusion. He wasn't expecting this. _Shit… Do I owe Squall money or something?_ With Irvine's mind still reeling, Squall continued; "While we were out in the field... the rest of us, except Rinoa, were drawing a SeeD salary, but I think you had to get by on a G-Garden student allowance if I'm not mistaken?"

Irvine nodded; "Yeah. Didn't seem to be a problem though, you guys just bought everything we needed as we went along. I don't think I spent hardly anything in the last three months." Squall shifted his weight from one foot to the other; "Even so, it's not right that you got paid a lot less than the rest of us, despite the fact that you were just as vital to the mission… and I wanna put that right." Irvine was struggling to process this but Squall's tone was, for once, kind of reassuring. Squall continued; "As you're coming with us to Timber, I'll instruct the staff here to put you on the payroll, equivalent to SeeD rank 14." Squall paused for a second, realising he'd need to clarify something; "It doesn't mean you're a SeeD... you'd still need to pass the field exam if you wanted to become one… officially you'll be classed as a specialist contracted out to our squad for the duration of the assignment." Irvine relaxed his stance a little; adding "That's cool." This chat was going a lot better than he thought it might when Squall first raised the subject. Curiosity then got the better of Irvine, and he couldn't help asking "What does SeeD rank 14 pay?"

"12,000 gil." Squall replied in a matter-of-fact tone. Irvine returned to his earlier puzzled state. Something didn't add up here. Cautiously, he protested; "I don't wanna sound ungrateful Squall, but that seems like a pretty low salary for the kind of dangerous work we're doing here. The entry-level positions on the academic staff start at about 25,000 a year don't they?" Unfazed, Squall clarified; "Per week." Irvine's eyes widened at that information. "Per week?" _God damn! That's a huge chunk of money!_ With a cheeky grin, Irvine glibly responded; "I withdraw my objection." Irvine hadn't known that SeeD salaries were normally calculated on weekly rates - although he had inadvertently hit on the reason why: it was dangerous work. In too many cases, an annual salary would have been a grossly optimistic prospect weighed up against the typical life expectancy of a newly qualified SeeD.

Squall continued; "...and you're owed some back-pay. I've told the payroll guys to make a payment into your account… a 'thank you' for helping to save the world." Irvine wasn't really sure what to say. This was one of the most generous things anyone had ever done for him. In fact, from a strictly financial point of view, it was definitely the most generous. And he'd not expected Squall, of all people, to be the one to do it. The only response he could muster at that point was; "Thanks, man." Squall nodded, then looked away again as he moved towards a potentially more sensitive topic. "The second thing I need to talk to you about…" Squall shifted awkwardly "...Selphie." Irvine could sense his discomfort, but Squall persisted as tactfully as he could; "I don't like to pry into other people's personal lives, but if something's happening between you two... as squad leader... I need to know."

Irvine nodded, and wondered how to even start answering that one. He didn't resent the question, he was well aware of Squall's responsibilities and the potential complications he had to grapple with. Letting Squall know that he didn't hold the question against him, Irvine said; "I get it, it's fine… just wish I could give you a clear answer." Squall was slightly puzzled by that. He looked at Irvine and asked; "How d'you mean?" Irvine scratched the back of his neck as he thought about how best to explain things as he saw them. He tried to elaborate; "Well... as far as I'm concerned... _I_ sure hope there's something going on. That ain't a big secret. As for what she'd say… you'd have to ask her." Hands in his pockets, Irvine frowned as he pondered the nature of the relationship between them; "Sometimes I think she's keen, sometimes she holds back."

Gesturing towards the spot on the other side of the meeting room where Irvine had squeezed Selphie in an attempt to console her, Squall offered his take on what he'd observed; "She seemed pretty comfortable just now." Irvine cut a broad smile, replying; "Yeah... she did, didn't she..." as he remembered the warm feeling of his arm wrapped around her waist. As Irvine's thoughts drifted, Squall's focused on what he'd heard; _Sounds like what happens next is all down to her._ Sensing that there probably wasn't much point digging any further, Squall resolved to wrap this up and finally get out of this swelteringly hot meeting room, concluding; "Alright… I think we're done here..." as he reached for the doorknob and twisted it. Irvine smiled as he walked through the door. In a teasing tone, he said; "Hey, I bet you just can't wait for the inevitable guitar recital you're gonna have to put on for us now." Closing the door behind him, a disconsolate Squall could only reply; "Ugh… Don't."

They walked across the third floor atrium towards the elevator. Irvine pressed the button and they waited for a few seconds in silence as the elevator made its way back up to the third floor. The doors slid open and they stepped inside. Irvine reached for the control panel and pressed the button for the ground floor, followed by Squall who pressed the button for the second floor. "Ah, right…" Irvine said; "You're going to see that Instructor lady… I nearly forgot." Irvine's thoughts wandered back to the subject of Selphie as the doors closed. While he had Squall's undivided attention, he thought he'd better check where he stood, just to be sure he was on safe ground. As the elevator began to descend, he queried his colleague; "Squall…" Squall looked up from the floor and met Irvine's stare head on. With a hint of nervousness, Irvine asked; "As far as the mission goes… Is it a problem if something does happen with Selphie?" Squall shook his head; "No." The elevator stopped as it reached the second floor and a soft ping accompanied the sound of the doors opening once again. Before the two parted ways to their respective destinations, Squall thought it best to offer Irvine a note of caution; "But…" He stepped out of the elevator, continuing; "...if you break that girl's heart…" A few steps clear now, he turned back to face Irvine, wearing an expression that somehow managed to be both jovial _and_ terrifying. As the elevator doors started to close, he concluded his warning; "...I'll rip yours out with my bare hands."


	5. Goodbye Pupurun

Selphie's mind was racing through the new possibilities in front of them as she bounded down the steps from the elevator to the circular walkway, followed by Quistis, Rinoa and Zell. As she reached the bottom step, she yelped; "I'm sooooooo excited!" Looking back towards her friends, she added; "I can't wait to hear what everyone sounds like!" Quistis was next to reach the bottom of the steps. Joining Selphie on the walkway, she recalled Selphie's crucial interruption that coaxed Squall into admitting he had some level of musical ability. It was a good spot and Quistis wanted to thank her for being so alert; "Oh! I meant to say… good job for remembering that we needed to give Squall the same grilling he gave us." Selphie looked at Quistis with wide smile on her face and said; "Heeeey… no worries!" As the group continued to walk around the gentle curve of the main ring, Selphie shared the key insight she'd latched on to; "I knew something was up when he asked to see Irvine's hand." Feeling slightly guilty for what she was about to say, Quistis let Selphie know she derived a small sense of satisfaction from turning the tables on their squad leader, even if it was just for a short while; "If I'm completely honest…" she said with a guilty expression on her face " _…_ I kind of enjoyed watching him squirm a little after he interrogated us like that." As they rounded the corner for the library, Selphie giggled slightly, then replied; "Yeah _…_ I know he wasn't being malicious or anything. He was just trying to make sure the cover story stood up to scrutiny. I kinda get the feeling he wishes we'd chosen something else though _…_ "

With her focus drifting towards the entrance to the library at the other end of the corridor, Quistis was still in a state of mild shock over the revelation they'd heard a few minutes ago. She looked at Selphie again and said; "I still can't believe he plays an instrument." She looked over her shoulder at Rinoa who was following a few steps behind; "You didn't know either, did you?" _Huh?_ Rinoa hadn't been listening to Selphie and Quistis' conversation. Her mind had been turning over the question of where the rest of the Forest Owls might have ended up; and whether they were all OK. She looked at Quistis and asked; "Know what?"

 _Hmmm…_ Quistis focused on Rinoa for a second. _She was miles away just then._ Come to think of it, she wasn't hearing a lot of chatter from either Rinoa or Zell. Nevertheless, she spelled it out for her; " _…_ about Squall playing the guitar." That revelation had been just as unexpected for Rinoa as it had for everyone else. She replied; "No, I honestly had no idea", shaking her head as she spoke, as if to underline her answer. A few feet from the entrance to the library itself, Zell spoke up; "I… uhhh… need to return a book… I'll come and find you in a minute." With that, he made an abrupt turn towards the front desk and stopped there, while the remaining three continued walking towards the shelves.

Selphie's eyes darted around the library, looking for any indication of where they might find what they were looking for. Not seeing anything obvious in terms of signage, she turned around to face Rinoa and Quistis, asking; "Do either of you know where the music section is?" Rinoa thought she had an inkling. She pointed to her left and said; "I think it's over there…" An impressed Quistis raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rinoa; "Wow… you know the layout? You must have spent a lot of time in here." Berating her own lack of knowledge by comparison, Quistis thought; _I know where the combat section is…_ _but as far as the rest of it goes… pfft._

Rinoa scratched her left forearm, looking a little sheepish at the prospect of being labelled the bookworm of the group. "I really like the library you've got here. It's nice and quiet, and there's loads of interesting books if you take the time to look through the shelves." Rinoa's eyes widened slightly as she recalled a fascinating old hardback she'd discovered tucked away in a little-used corner; "I found a great one the other day about the invention of para-magic." Quistis smiled; "Okay, let's find out if your library layout knowledge is as sharp as it sounds." They walked over to the set of shelves Rinoa had pointed at. Upon reaching them, they began searching through the categories, with Selphie calling them out as she brushed past; "Magnetism… Moombas _…_ Monarchies _…_ Motorsport… Mountains _…_ Muffins…" _Muffins?_ Her attention was momentarily distracted. _Oooo_ _…_ _might come back to that later_. Her outstretched index finger glided past the tempting looking baking books and into the section they'd been seeking. " _…_ and… Music _…_ This is it!" She looked back at Quistis and Rinoa as she pointed towards a section of books on the second-to-bottom row of the shelving. She crouched down to get a better look. "Now _…_ let's see _…_ "

 _Accordions? No, that's no good._ Wanting to get closer still, Selphie knelt down on both knees and her fingers tip-toed carefully across the spines of various dust jackets as she assessed each title. She tilted her head slightly to help read the vertical text on the spines. _Balalaika For Beginners…? What the…?_ Selphie felt Quistis kneel down to her left hand side and lean closer. With some hesitation, Quistis tried to broach a delicate subject; "Umm… Selphie…" Her attention momentarily flitted towards Quistis in expectation of a question, before it was once again captivated by the plethora of books to be sifted through. Quistis wasn't quite sure how best to phrase what she wanted to say, but she gave it her best shot nonetheless. Quietly, she asked; "Were you OK with Irvine putting his arm around you earlier? I mean… I think he was trying to make you feel better _…_ rather than…"

With her eyes still fixed on the contents of the shelf in front of her, Selphie replied; "No, I didn't mind _…_ " in her usual happy tone. Her train of thought began to wander off course at the mention of Irvine's name though. The book titles weren't registering quite as quickly or as easily as they had a second ago and she found herself remembering the calming sensation of Irvine's arm wrapped around her. For once, his sense of timing had been impeccable. She had to hand it to him on that score. If there was ever a moment she'd desperately wanted someone to hug her, that was it. Reliving the moment in her mind, a second wave of emotion began to saturate her body, just like it had up in the meeting room. Selphie drew a long, deep breath and attempted to refocus on the titles in front of her.

Sensing that this conversation was about to get interesting, Rinoa knelt down by Selphie's right side. In an equally quiet voice, she half-whispered; "Awww… I thought it was really sweet when he did that." Leaving the books behind for a second, Selphie turned her head to face Rinoa, looking slightly nervous at the territory they were straying into. Undeterred, Rinoa continued; "Deep down I think he really cares about you." Selphie stared at Rinoa for a few seconds with eyes wide, not really knowing what to say to that. In the oppressive silence she could feel her heart start to pound faster and harder. Grasping around for a response, she could only come up with a timid " _…_ Really?" Rinoa's smile broadened; "Without a doubt." Leaning over Selphie's left shoulder, Quistis whispered; "I think so too. I know he puts on that whole ladies man act a lot of the time _…_ and he was kind of a jerk when we first met him, but… Rinoa's right… he's different when he's around you."

Selphie's cheeks were starting to turn slightly red. The question of whether or not Irvine's advances were motivated by bravado, lust or something deeper and more genuine was a difficult topic for her to grapple with. She'd noticed his advances alright, she couldn't really fail to notice them. When she'd first met Irvine in the early days of their long mission, she'd instinctively rebuffed his attention and written his 'interest' off as typical grandstanding, point-scoring, macho bullshit from an egomaniac who thought he was the proverbial god's gift. Nevertheless, pretty early on she'd had to admit two things to herself. Firstly, that Irvine was a good-looking guy and she _did_ find him attractive. Secondly, and with more difficulty, she also had to admit that she enjoyed the attention on some level. She hated herself for that, but acknowledging the fact made it easier for her to dismiss Irvine's advances as shallow, superficial flirting that wasn't going to lead anywhere. She'd reminded herself many times that she wasn't going to be just another notch on this guy's bedpost.

All that felt like a lifetime ago now though, even though it could only have been back in late May or early June. So much had happened since then. Trabia Garden was in ruins. Ultimecia was dead. And now her dream of being a band was on the brink of coming true. It was so close she could almost taste it. Opinions and assumptions that had stood rock solid as recently as a couple of months ago had been morphed and moulded by events to the point where Selphie found herself kneeling on the library floor on this early August afternoon, with Quistis whispering Irvine's praises into one ear and Rinoa whispering them into the other. In truth, she didn't know what to think anymore. Self-doubt and indecision began to grip her. _I… I… What am I supposed to do?_

With a sly glance over Selphie's shoulders towards Quistis, Rinoa leant a little closer to Selphie and asked; "It's obvious that he likes you… so _…_ I guess the question is… do you like him?" Nervously, Selphie nodded as she bit her bottom lip in anguish. In a hushed voice, she answered; "Of _course_ I do." With a quiet giggle, Quistis replied softly; "I thought so. I saw that look you gave him earlier." Selphie's head snapped round to face Quistis. Wearing a pout, she protested; "What look?" A smirk spread across Quistis' face as she pinpointed the moment she had in mind; "Up in the meeting room. When Irvine landed himself a place in the dorms _…_ you looked like a girl who'd got a tall, handsome stranger covered in chocolate sauce as a birthday present." Rinoa raised her hand to her mouth, suppressing the urge to laugh in her throat, resulting in a muffled snort.

The hot blush in Selphie's cheeks was clearly visible now. She flailed her arms as she whisper-shouted; "Okay! Fine! I like him! I just said didn't I?" Her tone dropped back to its previous level as she hung her head and admitted; "I… I just don't know what to do about it." Rinoa and Quistis looked at each other, both recognising that they'd _finally_ got Selphie to open up a little about her inner feelings. Getting ready to unburden herself of some deep neuroses, Selphie raised her head back up and inhaled through her nose until her lungs were completely filled. Choosing to stare at the books in front of her instead of facing either Rinoa or Quistis, she nervously whispered; "What if it goes further _…_ and it turns out I'm not what he's into after all? Or if he moves on to another girl as soon as he's got what he wants? Or he… cheats on me? What am I supposed to do then?"

Quistis and Rinoa started to understand the insecurities and doubts that had held Selphie back from letting things develop any further with Irvine. Cautiously, Quistis tried to show Selphie that, judging by his actions, Irvine only seemed to have eyes for her; "Look… If he wanted… I mean… you've seen the looks he gets from other girls when we're walking around, right?" Careful to keep her voice down, Selphie retorted; "Yeah, I've noticed _…_ I've got eyes!" Quistis tried to carry on; "Okay… so… for argument's sake, say he _was_ only after a casual hook-up _…_ do you think he'd have a hard time finding one?" Even though they were whispering, Selphie still managed to inject a defensive tone as she answered " _…_ No." That question hurt more than it should have and she found herself glaring at Quistis, thinking; _Are you trying to make me feel better? Because it's not fucking working._ Sensing Selphie was getting het up at the angle she'd chosen to approach this from, Quistis tried to finish the point she was making; "Right… but as far as I can tell _…_ he spends pretty much all of his free time with you instead of chasing other girls around the quad."

Rinoa confirmed Quistis' observation; "Yep. That's the main reason it's so hard to have a proper girl's talk with you… Irvine's nearly always there! You remember the other day when you were updating your web page?" Selphie looked confused at why Rinoa had brought that up, but went with it; "Yeah…?" Rinoa continued; "Don't take this the wrong way Selphie _…_ we all love reading your intranet page, but watching you edit a load of indecipherable code for hours is not exactly the most exciting thing in the world for the rest of us. We're just not into it like you are." Rinoa paused for a second, trying to make sure Selphie didn't get the wrong end of the stick. "Anyway… my point is… I left you and Irvine by the study terminal to go and find Squall… it must have been at least an hour and a half before I came looking for you both, to see if you wanted to have lunch with us. When I left, Irvine was leant up against the wall watching you do your thing _…_ and he was still watching you when I came back. I don't think he moved from that spot the whole time. As formidable as your HTML skills might be, I don't think that's what captivated his attention." Quistis raised an eyebrow on hearing that little story, whispering over Selphie's shoulder to Rinoa; "When you put it like that… sounds like Irvine's got it _bad_."

Staring once again at the books in front of her, Selphie had one last thing she needed to get out; " _…_ and…" She could feel a lump in her throat as she approached the subject that was perhaps the biggest area of worry and source of hesitation for her " _…_ what if _…_ I'm a huge let-down? I've never…" Quistis and Rinoa looked at each other. This time it was Rinoa who leaned in close to Selphie's ear and tried to reassure her, whispering; "I… erm _…_ until a few days ago… I hadn't either." Selphie looked at Rinoa and cracked a sort of half-smile. Sure, Rinoa was her friend, but she wouldn't ask or expect her to share deeply personal stuff like that. The fact that she was prepared to talk about it at all made Selphie feel like she had someone to turn to. From her left side, Quistis leaned close to Selphie's other ear, reluctantly admitting; " _…_ and … umm… I'm in the same boat you are." The anger Selphie had felt towards Quistis a moment ago melted away in an instant.

Rinoa thought hard for a second, wondering what it was that Selphie needed to hear right now. Trying to sum up the situation as she understood it, Rinoa whispered; "There's no way of knowing what could happen with Irvine unless you give him the chance to show that he does care about you. And, yeah, all the things you mentioned _might_ happen. Those risks will be there in any relationship… not just one with Irvine. All I can say is… if it's the real deal… then it won't matter how many girls throw themselves at him _…_ or if your first night together doesn't play out like a scene from some ridiculous romance novel." Selphie looked at Rinoa and slowly nodded in relief that, in the midst of this turbulent chapter of her life, she had friends who she could talk to about this kind of thing. Quistis followed Rinoa's advice with some of her own; " _…_ and take it from someone who's been there _…_ you don't want to waste time sitting on the fence, wondering about what might or might not be. That'll get you nowhere fast."

* * *

Squall walked across the second floor gantry, absorbed in his thoughts. _How the hell am I going to explain this plan? No matter how I describe it, it's going to sound totally nuts._ He reached the end of the gantry, then turned left into the corridor that linked most of the 2nd floor classrooms together. Passing numerous doors along the way, he eventually approached the one he was seeking out. The music classroom was located near the end of this stretch of corridor before it T-junctioned again into yet more classrooms off to the left and right. This part of the Garden really was a bit maze-like. The barely audible but tell-tale sound of many clumsily played keyboards discordantly jarring with each other, the occasional piercing note of a recorder and the various stuttering percussive sounds of wooden blocks, triangles and tambourines all confirmed to Squall that, yes, the junior classmen were in there; and they were having a ball. The end result was a discordant mess and Squall could feel himself tense and recoil at the sound of it. Fortunately the room had received some form of sound-deadening treatment, which took care of the worst of the noise and made sure the adjacent classrooms weren't rendered completely unusable.

Squall decided it would be best to head around the corner to the coffee machine to kill a few minutes and wait for the class to finish instead of lurking outside. He walked past the classroom door and continued to on the T-junction. To the right lay yet more classrooms, perhaps another five or six, of which he only had scant knowledge of, as he rarely had cause to venture that way. Some were definitely science rooms, one he thought was computer tech, but as for the others… well… he'd be guessing. To the left, maths, geography and history classrooms, and more importantly, about 15 feet past the junction of corridors, the coffee machine he was seeking.

Squall sauntered up to the machine. He knew what to expect. It was free-vend and, therefore, instant coffee… which would be terrible. Next to the machine, a small table offered sachets of sugar, tea bags and plastic stirrers. Not wanting it's students wired on caffeine all the time, Balamb Garden had rather wisely configured all the on-site coffee machines (except the one in the cafeteria) to require a staff keycard to operate. Squall swiped his card over the reader, pressed the _White Coffee_ button and folded his arms as the machine whirred and clattered. It sputtered a boiling hot brown-black liquid into a plastic cup, then topped it off with a white foamy secretion that Squall could only assume was supposed to pass for milk. The resultant liquid looked and smelled questionable. He removed the drink from the machine and realised almost immediately that the single-skin plastic cup was nowhere near capable of containing the excessive heat of its contents. He quickly put it back down again in an only partly successful attempt to prevent his fingertips being burned. _Bloody hell. Why do they make this stuff so fucking hot? Maybe it's to sear off the taste buds so you can't tell how bad it is_ _…_

Having placed the cup on the small table beside the machine, Squall proceeded to stand there for the next four minutes, obsessively blowing on the molten cup of coffee, stirring it, blowing on it again. A cycle of actions he hoped would eventually reduce the temperature to a point that wouldn't immediately scold his mouth. Mid-way through a stirring phase, he heard a classroom door slide open from around the corner, followed by the echoing sound of footsteps and indistinct murmuring of students in conversation. _They've finished, I'll head round there_. He withdrew the stirrer from his coffee and lent down to throw it into the trash bin under the small table. The lid of the bin snapped shut and with drink in hand he turned on his heels, intending to head back down the corridor the way he'd come. Before he could take a step, Instructor White rounded the corner, seemingly en route with speed to the same coffee machine Squall was currently stood beside. She looked up from the clutch of folders she was carrying and recognised him immediately. Between the ages of 13 and 15, she'd been Squall's music tutor. Arriving at the machine, she greeted her former student with a slight smile of recognition; "Squall." He nodded slightly back in her direction; "Instructor."

Her expression changed slightly as she realised her breach of proper protocol. " _…_ I'm sorry, I suppose it should be Commander Leonhart now, shouldn't it." Squall looked away as he said; "Don't call me that." Remembering that she'd obviously come round the corner to use the coffee machine, he took a step back from it and ceded the space to Instructor White. He took a tentative sip of his drink while Instructor White grabbed a tea bag from the table and pressed the _Hot Water_ button. Squall's low expectations of the coffee hadn't been exceeded. _Yep, that's every bit as terrible as I thought it would be._ His thoughts then returned to the matter that brought him down this nondescript stretch of corridor in the first place. "I _…_ need to talk to you _…_ if you have a minute." Instructor White looked momentarily confused, but wasn't massively thrown by Squall's statement. "Okay…" she said, with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait in the classroom, I'll be there in a minute when I'm done here."

Squall nodded, then set off down the corridor, still cradling his terrible coffee. He turned right at the junction and then through the door into the music classroom. It was empty. The class that just finished would have been the last one of the day for the junior students. The last one of the week in fact, what with it being a Friday afternoon. In their eagerness for the weekend to start, they'd disappeared down the 2nd floor corridor towards the lift in a brisk hurry. Squall looked around the classroom. _Haven't been in here for a while_. He grabbed a chair fairly near the door, and sat on it at a 90 degree angle, left flank leaning against the backrest. He placed his unwanted coffee on a nearby desk and waited.

* * *

As he approached the service desk near the library entrance, Zell could discern the unmistakable figure of a girl with sleek black hair, worn in a long plaited pigtail. She was standing with her back to him, engrossed in her work. _Okay…_ he thought as he fought down the rising nerves and closed the distance between them with each step across the carpet _…_ _She's here._ As the others disappeared further into the library, Zell came to a standstill by the desk and rested his arms on it without a sound. She was busily sorting through a pile of books that sat on a table against the far wall. He watched as she flicked through each one and scribbled notes on a sheet of paper. Right on cue, Zell's nagging inner critic entered from stage left into his conscious mind and immediately began hogging the spotlight. _Ohhhh, here we go. I don't even know why you're bothering loverboy. You always go to pieces around pretty girls. Even around the ones that seem to like you for some mad, inexplicable reason. Still… this should be entertaining in a 'slow motion car crash' sort of way. Wait a sec before you talk to her OK? I wanna get comfortable with the popcorn_ _…_

Zell tried to halt the looming inner turmoil before it flared up to full scale. _Paranoia, doubt, cowardice, negativity… whatever you are, you can just cram a sock in it today. I know her name, I know she likes me. I'm fucking going for it… I'm gonna talk to her._ With the better half of his nature temporarily in control, Zell considered what he should do next. He found himself thinking; _She looks busy… I don't wanna interrupt her… maybe I should do this after we're finished._ As quickly as that noble and chivalrous thought surfaced, it was swallowed up again in a torrent of sexual frustration and cynical self-awareness. _Yeah, you keep telling yourself that pal… as if you're not going to stand here for as long as you can get away with_ _…_ _coppin' an eyeful of that delightful rear view._

To his shame, it was the short skirt that clinched victory for the dark side. Zell's attention was drawn to the librarian's legs like a moth to a flame. His gaze began at her ankles, swept over her calves and knees, lingered over her perfect thighs, and... _Ha ha haaaa! Boom! Called it! You're so predictable! I reckon you got about 10 seconds max before she turns round. Enjoy it while it lasts man!_ Zell was getting annoyed with himself now. This schizophrenic dilemma had raged every time he tried to talk to a girl he was interested in. _Just shut up! Man_ _…_ _In my head I sound, like, ten times worse than Irvine._ He closed his eyes for a second, temporarily blocking out the enticing sight in front of him, then attempted to push away the lascivious thoughts that dominated his mind and clouded his better judgement. In the momentary reprieve behind closed eyelids, he readied himself to attract her attention and let her know he was standing there, waiting to talk to her… in order to return a library book. _Yep, just returning a library book. Nothing wrong with returning a library book_.

 _You'll still mess it up somehow._ With his eyes still shut, Zell's expression twitched fractionally as he fought to reassert control. _Arrrggghhh! Just_ _…_ _FUCK… OFF… will you!_ Zell's inner critic snorted at that. _Buddy, if that hulking great monster of a thing I had to share your head with… what was it called? Christopher? Alexander? Well… whatever. If that thing couldn't shift me, you've got no chance. Hey, I'm feeling charitable though my friend, I'll go take a back seat with the opera glasses and warm up my heckling voice._ With the nagging little voice in his head receding into the outer reaches of his thoughts, Zell opened his eyes again. Just as he drew a breath in anticipation of calling her name, his irrepressible inner critic popped back into his consciousness for one last cutting remark; _Here's hoping she squeezes your biceps… then asks why the right one is bigger than the left._ Mentally cut down, he let that breath out and drew another. Regaining his confidence now, Zell cleared his throat…

"Daniella." She turned around to see who was calling her and, seeing it was Zell, nearly dropped the book she was holding. "Oh!" She quickly put it down on the nearest surface and steadied herself; "Um… Hi Zell!" Immediately feeling self-conscious at being caught off guard by this unexpected encounter, she ran her fingers across her hair and swept her fringe clear of her eyes. Zell smiled at her and returned the greeting in a happy tone; "Hi!" Reaching into his jacket with his left hand, he removed _Combat King 003_ and laid it on the countertop. "I… ahhh… just wanted to say thanks for finding this for me. I've… erm… read it cover to cover and practiced all the moves in here. A few of them were really useful in recent battles."

She looked up at Zell with wide eyes and a soft smile, pleased that she'd helped him in some way. Her elbows were resting on the desk in front of her and she cupped her face with her hands, gazing at him. _Oh man… she's so pretty._ The negative voice he'd pushed out of his conscious mind took it's chance to sneak back in. _Yep… and that's why you're gonna blow it._ Feeling increasingly tongue-tied and losing the internal battle of wits with his own sense of pessimism, Zell tried to continue; " _…_ and… I _…_ err…" _Oh come on, this is pitiful. You're gonna hurt her feelings if you don't say something…_ He took a deep breath, then forced out the words; " _…_ I _…_ did think of you when I read it." He looked away in embarrassment at the ham-fisted way he'd approached that, mentally kicking himself; _Oh great, now she thinks you were picturing her face while you were practicing your roundhouse kicks. Bravo. Smooth. Sometimes I despair at being a part of your psyche, I really do_ _…_

An awkward silence lingered for what felt like an eternity. It was eventually broken as Daniella parted her lips to ask a question. "Um…" Zell looked at her again, this time noticing a very slight blush in her cheeks. _Oooo-kay, looks like she found that just as cringeworthy as I did._ She continued; "Are you _…_ returning it… or renewing it?" Zell rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand as the prickly heat of embarrassment collected around him, then replied; "Returning it." _Yeah… that thing she probably spent ages finding for you, you're just gonna toss it aside like a used tissue._ This was becoming excruciating now, his inner critic was winning hands down. In an attempt to row it back a little, Zell added; "I've got it memorised now." _Yup, might have just yanked it back out of the infinite pit of awkwardness there… and thrown it straight on the heap of cold indifference. Nice one._

She took the combat book from the countertop, made a note of some kind on a sheet of paper in front of her, then placed it in a tray to her right for books that needed to be returned to the shelves at some point. As she turned back to face Zell, her expression changed; "Oh! I almost forgot! I've got some good news for you. _Goodbye Pupurun_ is available again." She leaned over to a set of pigeon-holes against the wall to her left and picked out a book. In an instant, Zell's inner critic was expelled from his consciousness, as if she'd somehow stumbled upon it's off switch. She continued; "I know you've been waiting for it, so I kept it aside for you. Here." Facing Zell once again, she held the paperback out towards him and he grasped it with his left hand. In the excitement of finally having the opportunity to read this story at his leisure, Zell let loose an "OH YEAH!" that was definitely too loud for the library.

This book was supposed to be something of a cult classic. Reflecting on the long delay between placing a reservation and the book actually being available, he said; "Man _…_ it feels like I've been waiting forever for this!" The relief in his voice was palpable. Zell cracked the book's spine and flicked rapidly through the pages. It was a little dog-eared but otherwise seemed to be in fairly good condition, considering it's likely age. His examination of the book halted abruptly as a question posed itself; "Hold on a sec… I thought Raijin had this."

"He did." Daniella extended her right hand in Zell's direction, inviting him to place the book in her waiting palm. Zell handed it back and she opened the front cover, then pointed at the sheet all library books carried inside the front cover which detailed who'd checked them out and when. Her index finger landed on the most recent entry of the ten or so on the log sheet. "See?" A scribbley, but legible note did indeed read " _Raijin_ ". The checkout date suggested he'd had it for… _the last two years? That book-hoggin' bastard!_ Zell wore a confused expression as he asked; "So how's it back in the library? I haven't seen Raijin since _…_ " _Lunatic Pandora_. He finished his sentence in his head for once. Surely Raijin hadn't snuck back into the Garden to return an overdue library book? The very idea was preposterous.

Daniella folded the front cover over again and handed the book back to Zell. She explained; "The quartermaster found it yesterday while they were clearing out his dorm room. He brought six or seven library books back to us… and that was one of them." Zell frowned; "They cleared out Raijin's room?" Still wearing that alluring smile, she nodded; "Yes. Seifer and Fujin's too I believe. You didn't know?" Zell's expression changed as he shook his head. _Wow… It just seems so… final._ His sombre thoughts were interrupted by the rhythmic sound of hard, assured footsteps on a polished floor from the adjoining corridor. Zell looked to his right and caught sight of Irvine entering the library. Seeing Zell at the front desk, Irvine wandered up to him and noticed the strange expression he wore. "Hey Zell… what's up?"

Zell shook himself, landing back in the here and now. "Ahh… Nothing. I'm good." Irvine nodded, then switched his attention from Zell to the cute girl behind the desk; "Hey… which way to the music section?" She answered; "Um… left hand side, fourth row down." Irvine let loose an easy smile in her direction; "Thanks!" Turning his attention back to Zell, Irvine said; "Come on… let's go and and find the others." As they both took a step away from the desk, Daniella called out; "Oh! Uhhh _…_ Zell…" He turned around again to find her holding _Goodbye Pupurun_ out towards him. Embarrassed that he'd been absent-minded enough to leave it on the countertop, he took a step back in her direction and reached for the book. As he took it, she said in a soft, quiet voice; " _…_ please…call me Dani."

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for sticking with the story if you've made it this far. I still have a long way to go with it but I should let people know that new chapters are probably going to come at a slower pace from this point on. Hopefully they'll be worth the wait. Thx - SwerveRaise.


	6. It's Either This Or A Grumpy Cat

The door slid open and Instructor White entered the classroom, carrying her tea. She put the cup down on a desk parallel to the one Squall was leaning against, grabbed a chair of her own and sat down. As she slowly stirred her drink, Squall contemplated the woman he'd sought for advice. Instructor White, Lydia to her friends and family, was an attractive brown-eyed woman of perhaps 26 or 27 years of age. She was about 5"6, with a slender but purposeful build. Her dark brown hair was worn in a slightly ruffled shoulder-length bob with a fringe. She was fair skinned, but had a scattering of light tan coloured freckles across her face. From a distance, she had a fleeting resemblance to Ellone. Without a doubt she was a highly capable and intelligent woman. Among the academic instructors (and a few students who'd been on the receiving end of it) she was renowned for commanding a dry, cutting wit; and as was to be expected of a music tutor at an academy for gifted youngsters, her encyclopedic knowledge of music was second-to-none. No matter whether classical, popular, unpopular or just downright strange, nobody in the rest of Balamb Garden could rival it. Her appetite for music seemed so extensive and far reaching, Squall had once or twice found himself wondering if she just enjoyed hearing _any_ form of sound.

Instructor White fished out the tea bag from her beverage, then twisted around to discard it nonchalantly in a nearby waste bin. Pivoting on her seat again, she returned to her initial position facing Squall and asked; "So… what's this about?" He exhaled. "I…" Squall paused as he realised his mistake. This wasn't just about him. He corrected himself; "We… might need your help with a SeeD mission." Sometimes this kind of thing happened. Academic staff were occasionally roped into assist with Garden's military operations when their expertise warranted it. In her five years at Balamb Garden, Instructor White had only been asked to help with a SeeD mission once before, three years ago, when she'd deciphered the notebooks of a murder victim - a prominent composer who'd been working with the Galbadian National Orchestra. The regular police investigation had drawn a blank, and with a suspicion of foreign involvement the Galbadian government had hired SeeDs to help identify and track down the perpetrators.

She looked at her former student. His face still carried a youthful construction; with alert, albeit cold, eyes. The serious expression he wore could, probably _should_ , belong to an older, harder man. _Under that professional mask…_ she thought… _he's still just a boy. How the hell can he cope with all that pressure and expectation on his shoulders?_ Exhaling hard at the prospect of getting caught up in another SeeD mission, she thought it sensible to find out whether he was asking her or telling her before the conversation went any further; "Squall… Is this an official request to assist SeeD?" He thought about that for a moment as his head fell to one side. _Why would she ask that?_ During the couple of years he'd been under her tutelage, she'd always carried herself with a kind of steely resolve, a quiet but forceful determination. In truth he had a great deal of respect for her, perhaps more than any other instructor he'd studied under. As he looked at her now though, she seemed… weary. Maybe that was understandable as she'd endured more in recent weeks than most academic tutors would ever be expected to deal with.

Her place of work had been caught up in something akin to a civil war, with colleagues and students alike pitting themselves against each other in a rancorous dispute over the control of Balamb Garden which had spilled over into internecine violence. In truth, the effects of that woeful incident were still being felt. After they'd returned to Balamb two days ago, Squall had given the order to fire all the remaining faculty members. On paper, the faculty was supposed to be an administrative division of the Garden, designed to assist both NORG and Headmaster Cid in running the sprawling and complex institution that had built up under their tenure. In practice however, Squall had concluded from first hand experience that the faculty's primary purpose was to act as NORG's enforcers during his reign as the Garden's proprietor. They didn't teach, they weren't instructors and NORG himself was long gone - his cocoon had been collected by his fellow Shumi and returned to their village in the frozen tundra of the far north.

With NORG no longer part of the scene and Cid taking an indefinite leave of absence, as far as Squall was concerned the faculty served no useful purpose. After the party celebrating their victory over Ultimecia, Cid had taken the decision not to resume his duties straight away, choosing instead to spend some time with his wife at their home on the Centran seashore. Standing on Balamb dock with Edea by his side, Cid had handed operational control of the Garden to Squall. He couldn't say how long he'd be gone, but he did confirm that he _would_ be coming back - they both would. The immediate threat was gone but they knew now that the wider struggle extended far into the future. They'd return and help Garden prepare for that future once they'd recovered and put their home back in order. With that, they'd boarded a small boat at the quayside and set sail, bound for the Cape of Good Hope.

Shortly after Cid and Edea's departure, they'd parked the garden back on its foundations. Perhaps only about a sixth of the faculty's former ranks remained at that point. More than half had fled months ago in the wake of NORG's defeat, more still had drifted away after the Garden became mobile, their numbers shrinking with every stop along their journey. Most of them had picked up on the vibe that their presence was no longer wanted and had chosen to jump before being pushed. The few who remained had wisely stopped wearing their formal faculty uniforms. When they'd arrived home, Squall had made the call to officially disband the faculty. He'd reasoned that it was entirely possible to run the Garden without them and he also harboured concerns that they remained a potential risk, given their past actions. Those concerns weighed heavily in his decision - he wasn't prepared to work alongside people who'd been complicit in releasing extremely dangerous monsters from the training centre into the rest of the Garden, jeopardising the lives of both students and staff.

The experience of a pitched battles in the workplace, coupled with having to face down anything ranging from a Bite Bug all the way up to a T-Rexaur that might be lurking around the next corridor would be enough to knock the stuffing out of some. Probably not her though, Squall had always considered Instructor White to be made of tougher stuff than most. _Except maybe the T-Rexaurs…_ Squall thought… _she'd have had no trouble taking down most of the monsters that escaped from the training centre._ Looking briefly over to her desk, he caught sight of the two-bolt crossbow she carried as a matter of routine. It was casually leant up against a side-panel, but even from fifteen feet away he could tell it was polished, oiled and ready to go. _Never seen her use it, but I reckon she's pretty handy with that thing…_ And then he remembered; even if you could shrug off the NORG episode, that still wasn't the full story.

She'd also been caught in the crosshairs of an intended Galbadian missile strike - thankfully an unsuccessful one. They'd all come within a few hundred yards of being completely destroyed. The fate of their sister institution, Trabia Garden, was a constant reminder to all of how close they'd come to disaster. They'd tried to organise an evacuation but there simply hadn't been enough time to quell the chaos and get people out before the Garden had become airborne. In the miraculous act of avoiding the incoming missiles, they'd maneuvered the Garden into the ocean, only to drift aimlessly, unable to control the course of their newly waterborne academy. Instructor White had been stranded along with the rest of the Garden's staff and students for days until the ocean currents had finally brought them crashing into the outskirts of Fisherman's Horizon where they were able to make repairs. So yes, all in all he could understand why she might not be feeling quite herself.

Was he asking in an official capacity? As Commander of SeeD, he certainly had the authority to make such a formal request… but somehow that didn't seem appropriate. If this was an official order he might have taken up Quistis' earlier suggestion of simply summoning her up to the bridge over the intercom. No. This wasn't or an order or something he'd feel comfortable demanding that she agree to. Hell, he'd understand completely if she just laughed in his face once she knew the reason why he'd sought out her expertise. He shook his head, answering; "No", feeling slightly embarrassed at how many seconds had elapsed since she asked the question.

Her expression changed, softening a little. Clearly that wasn't the answer she'd been expecting. Squall tried to elaborate; "It's not an official request. I understand if you don't want to be involved." After a slight pause and a quizzical look, she asked "What is it that you need my help with?" Squall sighed and attempted to explain; "We're about to head out to Timber on a long mission and I thought it would be… wise… to consult you on the cover story that's been proposed." Her eyes narrowed and her head tilted to the side slightly as she asked; "What's the cover story?" In a reluctant tone, Squall replied; "A rock 'n' roll band." Instructor White's lip curled at that piece of information; "I see…"

She lifted her cup off the desk next to her and took a sip of her tea. _Well… that explains why he's here._ Putting it back down again, she propped her elbow on the desk next to her and rested her head on her hand; "How many of you are there?" Squall rubbed his hand across his face as he confirmed; "It's a team of six." She cast her mind back a few years to the classes she'd taught that included Squall… _He never wanted to perform in front of others. There's no way he'd have wanted to do this…_ She thought it best to confirm her reasoning; "…and I'm guessing the cover story wasn't your idea?"

Squall shook his head; "One of the others suggested it. I'd like you to make a judgement call on whether or not it's plausible." She nodded slowly… "Right." then thought for a second about what she'd heard so far; _I wouldn't have thought he'd find it difficult to work this out for himself._ She tilted her head to one side very slightly and continued; "…Isn't it obvious? I mean it sounds like you've at least discussed it with them?" Squall's shoulders slumped in frustration at the inconclusive position he found himself in; "We've discussed it, but the answer isn't clear cut. Some say they're able to play an instrument to some degree, others aren't. I'm having difficulty picturing how it might unfold in my mind. I suppose there is a chance it might work, but someone outside the team with the proper distance and perspective needs to make the call." She nodded; "OK, I understand." His request explained, Squall looked directly at Instructor White and asked; "So… will you help?" A few uncomfortable seconds passed, filled only with a slow sigh, until she finally answered; "Yes."

 _She doesn't sound very certain…_ Reaching over to her right, Instructor White grabbed her cup of tea again and took another sip. Holding the drink in her hand this time, she asked; "How do you want to do this?" Squall swallowed and shuffled his tongue around his mouth, trying to disperse the lingering, acrid taste of the horrible coffee he'd sipped at a few minutes ago. He replied; "We were thinking of trying everyone out, one at a time with an instrument. Then…" Squall shuddered a little as he moved on to an area of this he was absolutely dreading. "…doing the same with vocals. If we get over that first hurdle without you calling it to a halt, then we can worry about what to do next." She nodded; "Okay, that makes sense… but… I'd like to meet the rest of your team _before_ we do any of that, if that's alright?"

 _I guess she wants to size them up and see what she's dealing with._ He nodded, adding; "Alright, that should be fine." Instructor White took another gulp of her tea, then placed the empty cup back down on the desk next to her; "When were you thinking of conducting this little assessment?" Squall scratched the side of his face as he answered; "As soon as possible. The clock's ticking as far as the mission is concerned. If this cover story won't hold up, we need to know straight away so we can prepare a different one." She nodded in understanding; "Right…" Squall remembered something; "The rest of the team should be down in the library right now if you want to meet them." Instructor White shuffled on her chair, adopting an apologetic posture, then explained; "Ah… that might be a problem. I've got to leave in a few minutes. I need to get over to the vets in town before they close at five to pick up my cat and take him home." Squall nodded as he tried to grapple with the logistics and timings at hand; _She's probably got a load of stuff planned for the weekend too… damn… I really don't want this to run into Monday, but it might have to…_

While Squall's thoughts drifted into next week and beyond, Instructor White ran through the sequence of events she'd have to complete in order to be back and be ready to assist the mission; _…get to the vets… pick up Sergeant Smudge… get home… cook and eat dinner… quick shower… get changed… drive back here…_ She looked at Squall and said; "I can probably be back here at 7:30 this evening. How does that sound?" Squall was taken a little by surprise at the suggestion that something could happen later that day, but also pleased the delay he worried about might not materialise. He frowned slightly as he thought; _Isn't this a major imposition on her?_ Tentatively, Squall answered; "I guess so… but I don't want to interfere with your free time outside Garden."

 _Come on Lydia, it's either this or another Friday night with your dusty old records, that bottle of red wine in the fridge and Smudge for company…_ She smiled at Squall, attempting to reassure him that he wasn't wrecking a carefully-planned Friday evening; "It's fine Squall. I don't have anything going on later and, like you said, time is of the essence. My neighbour won't mind keeping an eye on my cat… and the canteen should be empty at that time of day, how about you get your team to meet me there at half-past seven?" Squall mulled over the suggestion, then replied; "Yeah, that works."

Instructor White grabbed her empty plastic cup. "Right…" she said, as she got to her feet and swung the chair she'd been sitting on around, tucking it back under the desk; "I've got to get going." Squall nodded in understanding as he stood up and placed his chair back where he'd found it. She dropped her empty cup in the trash, then walked towards the door. Looking back at Squall, she asked; "Coming?" He held his mostly-full cup of coffee up in her direction as he replied; "You go, I've got to find somewhere to get rid of this. It's undrinkable." She smiled as she walked briskly through the classroom door, parting with; "If the plant in the corner dies, you won't have a leg to stand on."

* * *

As she flicked through the pages of _The Art of the Guitar_ , Rinoa's mind drifted back to their earlier conversation. Still kneeling in the same spot next to Selphie and Quistis, something was nagging at her subconsciously, telling her that there was a gap in her knowledge. That was it. _Birthdays_. A similar thought had occurred to her earlier that morning in relation to Squall. She didn't know when his birthday was and had planned to ask him when she got the chance. Although it was still very early days in their relationship (four and a half to be precise) Rinoa felt she really ought to know when her boyfriend's birthday was. Surely it was one of the basic facts you'd be expected to know about the other person, even at this early stage.

That thought had been pushed to the back of her mind during the intense meeting they'd had a little while ago but Quistis' comment about chocolate covered strangers had, eventually, pulled the thought back to the forefront of Rinoa's mind. And it wasn't just Squall, she didn't know anybody else's birthday either. Well, this was as good a time as any to find out. Rinoa looked over at Selphie, who was engrossed in a book of her own, her finger tracing down the paragraph she was busily absorbing. Remembering to keep to a whisper, Rinoa began; "By the way Selphie…" She looked up from the page she was reading as Rinoa completed her question; "…when _is_ your birthday?"

Selphie replied; "Oh… err… it's 16th July." To her left, Quistis looked up from the book she was holding while, to her right, a look of alarm spread over Rinoa's face. With a sense of distress in her lowered voice, Rinoa said; "What?! But… that's like… three weeks ago!" Selphie rested her book down on the green carpet as she shrugged, explaining; "Yeah… it was when we were in Esthar." Rinoa was mortified at the realisation that they'd let Selphie's birthday slip by unnoticed. She inwardly chided herself for the oversight; _I can't believe we dropped the ball like that._ Her sense of horror grew larger as another fact dawned on Rinoa; _It would have been her 18th too. She has every right to be mad as hell with us._

Rinoa looked at Quistis, left arm outstretched in disbelief and wearing a pained expression. Careful to keep her voice down, she said; "I can't believe we missed Selphie's birthday!" Seemingly just as wrongfooted as Rinoa, Quistis leaned a little closer to Selphie and quietly asked; "How come you didn't say anything?" A slightly embarrassed Selphie gazed down at the book she'd laid on the floor, avoiding eye contact; "Well… we were kinda busy that day… and…" She looked up again, this time her attention was centered on Rinoa; "…you were in a coma." A cold sensation ran through Rinoa on hearing that. Obviously she hoped on a logical, rational level that Selphie understood she wasn't able to do anything about that. She hadn't meant to overshadow Selphie's birthday to the extent that her friend didn't even bother to mention it to anyone. She'd never try to do that. Logic and rationality be damned, she wasn't talking to Squall here. Rinoa wasn't sure if, deep down, her friend still felt hurt… even if she couldn't rationalise it.

Selphie could sense that Rinoa was struggling to find the words to express what she wanted to say. Attempting to reassure her, Selphie smiled and shrugged her shoulders, whispering; "Seriously, I'm not upset about it or anything. And besides… in a roundabout way… I did get a really cool birthday present." Both Quistis and Rinoa wore a look of confusion, but it was Quistis who got in first and asked for clarification; "I… don't understand. What present?" Selphie turned towards Quistis and explained; "That was the day I got launched into space at the Lunar Gate. How many people can say they got to go into space on their birthday?" With a sense of relief that Selphie didn't seem too hurt by the fact that they'd let the day pass by unmarked, Rinoa was adamant that they'd make it up to her; "Still, we should do something…" she said in a quiet but determined tone, adding; "…even if it is a few weeks late." She looked over Selphie's shoulder toward Quistis, hoping for some back up; "Right?" Quistis smiled and nodded; "Right!"

Selphie protested; "You don't need to do that. We already had that big party last weekend!" Undeterred, Rinoa continued to push the idea; "Oh come on, it was your 18th! We've got to do _something_ …" Selphie's shoulders dropped slightly as she looked down at the book in front of her again. She whispered; "Ummm… instead of a party… can I ask you to do something for me?" Rinoa nodded as she stared at Selphie and whispered back; "Of course! What is it?" Wearing an anxious expression, Selphie continued; "Could you try and convince Squall that this isn't the stupidest idea in the history of the entire universe?"

Rinoa smiled and leant closer to Selphie's right ear; "Come on, he doesn't think that. I'm sure of it. He threw out the other ideas we came up with pretty quickly after he'd picked enough holes in them. Your idea was the best of the bunch… and we're gonna give it a try." From Selphie's left, Quistis whispered; "It sounded to me like the main reason he put up such a fight is because he doesn't want to perform in front of other people. We've got your back… we'll make sure Squall gives it a chance…" Quistis leaned over Selphie's left shoulder and looked at Rinoa as she said; "…but it's probably better if you have a quiet word with him first." Rinoa nodded; "I'll talk to him this evening."

Selphie clasped her hands together in front of her, and in a heartfelt tone said; "Thank you!" She inhaled deeply through her nose as a question suggested itself to her. "Anyway…" she said, looking alternately between her two friends; "…when are _your_ birthdays?" Selphie glanced at Quistis, expecting an answer, which promptly came; "4th October." From over her other shoulder, Rinoa answered; "Mine's 3rd March." Wearing a slight frown, Rinoa asked; "Do either of you know when Squall's birthday is?" The question was borne out of blind hope more than any expectation that either of them would actually know the answer. Selphie wore a blank expression but Quistis spoke up; "I think it's around this time of year so it must be coming up soon. Can't remember the date though, sorry."

A noise at the far end of the shelving distracted them. "Hey, there they are." _That sounds like Irvine._ Selphie, Quistis and Rinoa all looked towards the end of the aisle as Irvine and Zell appeared around the corner of the bookshelves, walking towards them. The pair stopped as they reached the section of shelving the three girls were kneeling next to. Irvine enquired; "So… find anythin' good?" Quistis reached down and grabbed a book off the floor, then held it out towards Zell; "I came across this when I was looking through the shelves. It might be the one you want." He looked down at the cover and read the title: _Modern Rock Percussion_. A wide grin spread across his face; "Awesome, thanks!" He tucked the smaller paperback he was already holding under his arm and took the percussion book from Quistis.

Sensing that Selphie might appreciate some alone time with Irvine, Rinoa looked up at him and said; "We haven't found anything on bass guitar yet… but we've got these to be getting on with." Her right arm waved briefly at the four or five books that were laying on the library carpet in front of them. Grabbing the one nearest to her, Rinoa rose from her kneeling position and got to her feet. She looked at Quistis and Zell; "Let's take these over to the reading desks and give Irvine some space to have a look through the shelves." Latching on to Rinoa's line of thought, Quistis picked up the book she'd been casually flicking through and stood up, brushing a few bits of carpet lint from her knees as she did so. Rinoa looked at Irvine and patted Selphie on the shoulder as she said; "I'm sure Selphie will give you a hand if you ask nicely."

As Zell, Rinoa and Quistis disappeared around the corner, Irvine knelt down next to Selphie and quietly admitted; "I… uh… don't really know what I'm lookin' for here…" Selphie looked at Irvine and said; "That's okay, you probably want to check the guitar books and see if they have a chapter about bass guitar. I don't think they have anything that's just about the bass." Irvine nodded, then after a few seconds asked; "Earlier… you mentioned you'd played the bass before…" Selphie nodded and Irvine continued; "Would you… show me the basics?" He followed up with; "Sometimes it's easier to learn from a person than from a book."

With a broad smile, Selphie replied; "Sure!" Then she rubbed her chin, thinking about a potential hurdle they'd have to overcome; "We'd have to actually get hold of a bass first though… Not sure where we'd find one here." Irvine shrugged; "We can worry about that later I guess. A book would be fine for the time being." He noticed that one of the books left on the floor by Selphie's knees had the title _Guitar For Beginners_. He reached down to pick it up, thinking; _That's as good as any place to start looking…_ He began to flick through the pages, scanning through the chapter titles; _Tuning… Amplification… Picking…_

As her index finger ran across the book spines in front of her, Selphie quietly asked; "So… what did Squall want?" Continuing to flick through the book in his hands, Irvine replied; "Ahhh, just some admin stuff…" She gave him a disbelieving look. For all his qualities, Irvine was _not_ the guy you turned to when it came to administration, paperwork, filing, record keeping; or anything remotely related. Even without looking up from the book he held, Irvine could sense that Selphie was staring at him. _I don't think she bought that._ He could even make a pretty good guess as to what expression she had on her face too. The temptation to see if he was right was strong enough to tear his attention away from the book and shift his focus to Selphie. _Yep… that's the look_. He smiled, thinking; _She's adorable when she does that._ With one eyebrow higher than the other, Selphie quietly asked; "Admin stuff?" In a low, soft voice, Irvine explained; "He put me on the payroll." Careful to keep her response to a level appropriate for the library, Selphie excitedly whispered; "Heeeey! That's great!"

Looking down again at the book he held, Irvine let loose a small nervous laugh; "Yeah… takes a few worries off my mind. What with Galbadia Garden being close to scrap metal I didn't reckon on them wiring me any gil any time soon." Selphie got the sense that something wasn't quite right with Irvine's reply. He seemed… evasive, almost as if something else weighed on his mind. As Selphie tilted her head slightly to get a better look at the expression Irvine wore, she thought; _I think there's something he's not telling me_. She shuffled around slightly to face him, then gathered her hands together in a ball by the hem of her yellow dress, leaned a little closer and softly whispered; "Did he… want anything else?"

Irvine took a deep breath through his nose, looked up again and whispered; "He… asked if there was something going on… between you and me." Selphie's eyes widened. For a couple of seconds, she remained perfectly still, staring straight at Irvine, processing what she'd just heard. Irvine's mind went into overdrive as he tried to analyse Selphie's reaction - or lack of one. He thought maybe she'd get spooked, or try and laugh it off. Or maybe she'd take offence at the fact he'd discussed something like that with Squall in the first place… even though Squall was the one who brought it up. He hadn't expected this though. If he didn't know her as well as he did, Irvine might have interpreted this as Selphie freezing up like a rabbit in headlights. That wasn't it though. He could tell, beneath her motionless exterior, cogs were whirring.

After what felt like an eternity, Selphie leaned forward towards Irvine's right ear and whispered; "What did you tell him?" Irvine placed his hands down on the carpet and pivoted round on his knee. Facing each other square on now, Irvine found himself looking straight into Selphie's expectant green eyes. The urge to answer her question with a kiss was almost too strong to resist. _Nope. Too risky, too quick._ He held himself in check. Instead, he craned forward and leant close to Selphie's right ear, his lips no more than a couple of inches away. The outward curl of her hair brushed gently against his face as he whispered; "I told him I didn't know for sure… but… I really want there to be."

Selphie could feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. Just as Irvine started to rock backwards on his knees to withdraw from her personal space, Selphie's hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him. She leant forward, and with some hesitation, just about managed to respond in a hushed whisper of her own; "Maybe…" she started, not really sure how her sentence was going to end. After an agonising pause, she sent Irvine's pulse racing as she said; "…we should talk." Her mouth dry with anticipation, she licked her lips very slightly, adding; "Later… when we're alone." Still holding Irvine's shoulder, she swallowed and briefly looked down the aisle of shelves, mindful that they were still in a very public part of the Garden. Turning her head back towards him, she leant so close to Irvine he thought he could feel her soft lips brush against his ear as she whispered; "When we're _really_ alone."


	7. Spare Change

Instructor White passed through the entrance to the cafeteria, immediately spotting the one occupied table in the otherwise deserted hall. Six people sat around it. A seventh empty chair waited for her. Noticing her arrival Squall got up and walked over. In a low voice, he said; "Thank you for doing this with so little notice." He gestured towards the extra chair that had been borrowed from one of the neighbouring tables, inviting her to take a seat. As she did so, Squall returned to the chair he'd vacated next to Rinoa.

Squall cleared his throat as he turned to face his colleagues across the table; "This is Instructor White. She's the music tutor on the academic staff." He swivelled back around to face her; "This is the team. I'm guessing you've met Quistis and Zell, they're both based here in Balamb." She looked at each in turn, then replied; "I think so… You're SeeDs aren't you?" Quistis answered for them both; "Yes." Squall gestured towards Selphie. "This is Selphie. She's also a SeeD… originally from Trabia Garden." Instructor White recognised Selphie, and not just on account of her distinctive hairstyle. She smiled as she asked; "You're the student who took over the Garden Festival committee, right? I mean… before everything went berserk and we figured out this thing could fly!" After she'd put so much effort into badgering anyone who'd listen about the festival, Selphie was pleased that some of her hard work had made a memorable impression; "Yes, that's me!"

"It's a shame with everything that's happened recently that it couldn't go ahead. We don't put on too many events here that capture the attention of the music tutor… but I was really looking forward to that one." Selphie's excitement lessened slightly on being reminded that the festival hadn't _actually_ taken place. Nevertheless, she tried to put on a brave face; "Yeah…that was kind of a bummer… but we did manage to hold a concert of our own while the Garden was being repaired." Instructor White leaned forward slightly, resting her forearms on the table in front of her; "Yes, I heard about that. Sounds like it was a success." Rinoa, Irvine and Quistis all smiled at the potential interpretations of that statement, while Selphie tried to continue with a smile; "…well… we got through it in one piece!" Squall wanted to move the conversation on; "Selphie mentioned to us earlier that she'd been in a band at Trabia Garden." Instructor White nodded approvingly; "That's good! Experience like that will make this easier."

Squall gestured towards the next member of the group… "This is Irvine." From the opposite end of the table, Irvine adopted a warm grin and briefly lifted his hat in acknowledgement; "Ma'am." Squall explained Irvine's role in the team; "He's Galbadia Garden's best marksman… " _Wait a sec…_ Realising his oversight, Squall looked at Irvine and corrected himself; "…although …you've just been relocated to Balamb so… I guess that makes you Balamb Garden's best marksman." A smirk spread across Irvine's face. He wasn't going to let this one pass without milking it for all it was worth. He tilted his head to one side and jibed; "Hey… Gabadia… Balamb… the important thing I'm hearing is that you agree I'm the best." Irvine brushed his fingers across his jacket; "No other qualifiers needed." He looked up to see a distinctly unimpressed Squall staring back at him from the other end of the table. Irvine rolled his eyes. _Dude… lighten up._ Instructor White broke the awkwardness with a wry-sounding comment of her own; "It's a pleasure to meet you Irvine." Irvine met her gaze across the length of the table and resumed his attempt to be charming; "Likewise, Instructor."

Squall pivoted on his chair slightly to introduce the final member of the group. His voice softened a little as he said "…and this is Rinoa." Instructor White leaned across the table, past Squall who sat between them, and shook Rinoa's hand. _I'm sure I've seen her somewhere… Was she out cold in the infirmary at one point?_ "Pleased to meet you Rinoa." She matched the greeting with an easy smile; "Pleased to meet you too Instructor." As their hands parted, Instructor White asked; "Are you a SeeD as well?" Rinoa shook her head. A momentary silence lingered until Squall attempted to fill it in the most professional tone he could muster; "Rinoa's the client for this mission. She's a member of a resistance group in Timber called the Forest Owls."

Instructor White couldn't help looking slightly unconvinced. _She doesn't look like a battle-hardened guerilla fighter… and for a 'client', she's sitting awfully close to him._ Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she tried to continue; "Ah… right. Squall mentioned that this mission would be taking place in Timber." She leaned back in her seat and addressed the group assembled around the table. "He also told me you're thinking about pretending to be a band as a cover story. Is that right?" The instructor's comment was met with a chorus of nods. "Can I ask who came up with the idea?" Selphie timidly raised her hand. "I did." _The one who's been in a band before… that figures._ Trying to ensure they were all on the same page, she continued recounting what she knew so far; "My understanding is that some of you can play something, others not so much. I know Squall's instrument of choice is the guitar, so I'm guessing you've press-ganged him into that particular slot in the lineup… but… what will the rest of you be playing?"

Not wanting to retrace the many footsteps they'd taken up in the third floor meeting room, Squall sighed in exasperation; "We had this discussion earlier. Let me give you the short version." He decided to work his way around the table in an anti-clockwise direction; "Rinoa's main instrument is the piano but she has some basic experience with the guitar." He pointed to Irvine; "Irvine used to mess around with diddley-bows when he was a kid. He wants to try the bass. Selphie is most comfortable with a keyboard, but can also play the guitar and bass to some degree." Squall paused fractionally as he drew breath and gestured towards Quistis. "I think it's fair to say Quistis ruled herself out of performing earlier as she can't play an instrument. Zell's also never played anything… but wants to try the drums."

Instructor White addressed the group around the table again; "Is that an accurate assessment?" Head's nodded and a few yeahs were uttered. She followed with; "Has he forgotten anything?" This time heads around the table shook. She breathed in deeply and slowly as she contemplated what she'd heard. "Okay, I see what the difficulty is. It's a kind of… sort of… maybe… possibly… type of situation." She shrugged, then cut to the chase; "There's only one way to find out isn't there. Gotta try it. I suppose the question is… where?" Squall tacked on an important condition; "It needs to be somewhere private." Taking that requirement on board, she ran through the possibilities in her head; "Normally I'd suggest trying to find a practice room in town… but there aren't that many to start with and they're usually booked up for weeks in advance. Sounds like it'll need to be somewhere in the Garden." Quistis spoke up; "Could we use your classroom?" Instructor White shook her head. "There's not enough space. You'd have to move the desks around and they're all fixed to the floor. Realistically, it needs to be somewhere else."

An idea struck Zell; "Hey, Squall, what about the basement?" Squall's expression softened as he thought about that idea. _The basement… yeah… that would work. It's a huge space and hardly anyone ever goes down there._ He nodded in Zell's direction, wearing a slight smile; "That's perfect." Squall turned to face Instructor White, then asked; "Are you OK with the basement?" She looked slightly puzzled, then shrugged; "I've never been down there. Is there enough space?" Squall nodded. "…and power?" Squall nodded again. She smiled as she gave her support to the suggestion; "Okay, sounds ideal." Across the table, Selphie threw a question into the mix that had been bugging her for the last few minutes; "Ummm… Are we gonna be able to get hold of all the instruments we need for this?"

Instructor White looked over at Selphie and answered; "Don't worry, there's a load of stuff in the storage cupboard next to my classroom. There's definitely a kit in there… pretty sure there's a bass… keyboards… Yeah, I think we've got everything we're going to need. We should be good as far as equipment goes." With Selphie's query satisfied, the conversation seemed to have run it's natural course. Instructor White laid her palms down on the table in front of her, preparing to get up; "Right then. Nine o'clock tomorrow morning?" Nods of agreement around the table were followed by the screech of chairs against the polished floor. One by one, each chair was placed back under the table and the group began to make their way towards the cafeteria's exit. As she passed under the arch and entered the corridor, Selphie turned back and waved; "See you tomorrow!"

* * *

It had been another long Friday at the end of another long week. As the footsteps of Squall's team became an increasingly distant echo as they disappeared down the corridor, Instructor White walked across the cafeteria's marble floor towards a vending machine in the corner. She could feel herself start to flag as the encroaching tiredness began to pull at her. _Better get something with caffeine in it before I drive back._ She rummaged through her pockets looking for a gil. Alongside the ruffling noise of her clothes as she searched, her ears alerted her to the sound of one set of footsteps that was still in close proximity. She looked over her shoulder to see Quistis walking towards her. Arriving at the vending machine, Quistis held her hand out towards Instructor White. Between her thumb and index finger she gripped a 1 gil coin. "Here."

With the search of her own pockets having drawn a blank, Instructor White reached out and took the coin from Quistis with a "Thank you." A metallic clank rang out as the coin dropped into the machine's mechanism and the front panel lit up, illuminating the available choices. _She's loitering because she wants to talk to me about something._ Instructor White pressed one of the buttons then looked over at Quistis as the machine whirred and clattered. With some hesitation, Quistis said; "I'm not really sure how I fit into this picture if I can't play an instrument." *THUD* A chilled can appeared at the bottom of the machine. Instructor White bent down to pick it up. Standing upright again, she cut straight to the point; "Can you sing?" Quistis' voice took on a definitive undertone as she replied; "No."

Instructor White carefully teased the tab of the can she'd selected, opening it just enough for a prolonged whoosh of carbon dioxide to escape. Chewing over Quistis' response, she shrugged away the possibility of her being the group's vocalist. "Okay… well…" Her sentence was interrupted by a spluttering gush of dark brown cola that began to fill the rim of the can she was holding. She quickly lifted it to her mouth and slurped the excess liquid away before it had the chance to drip all over the floor. Satisfied that the can was now safe to open fully, she pulled the tab again, then continued; "If the other five can get their act together, we'll have no problem finding something for you to do. Sound and lighting are jobs in their own right if they're done properly."

Quistis frowned as she leaned over to the machine and fed another coin into the slot; "I don't know anything about sound or lighting." The machine whirred into action again as Instructor White looked at Quistis with a mild sense of irritation. Surely, she thought, someone who's received extensive training on how to handle pressured and stressful situations would be able to deal with this? In a slightly dismissive voice, she replied; "Yep… and your drummer can't play the drums. Everyone's got a lot to learn." *THUD* Quistis bent down and withdrew her can from the machine. As she stood upright again, Instructor White pointed something else out; "Even the three who sound like they can play something already will have to learn how to play together." Quistis looked down and wiped the excess condensation from the chilled can onto her skirt; "I guess so." Sensing Quistis' unease, Instructor White thought it might be worth trying to put her mind at rest; "Don't worry about it. It's not that hard. I'll show you the basics tomorrow."

Quistis breathed in deeply, then exhaled through her nose. Despite Instructor White's reassurances, she couldn't escape the feeling that she'd be awake all night worrying about this stupid cover story. Instructor White took a sip from her can and thought; _Maybe I need to take her mind off it completely._ She smiled and said; "Come on, let's get out of here." The idea of drawing a line under the day appealed to Quistis a great deal. She nodded and the two women started to move. As they walked past the vacant tables and chairs of the deserted cafeteria, Instructor White took the opportunity to clarify something; "I got the impression that a few of your group are… how can I put this… more than just colleagues on a job?"

As they passed under the archway at the cafeteria's entrance, Quistis cracked a smile and chuckled slightly; "You could say that, yes." Instructor White's lack of reaction invited further explanation and Quistis found herself saying; "It's difficult to explain how it happened but Squall and Rinoa are together." A few steps further down the corridor between the cafeteria and the central hub, Instructor White replied; "No kidding. I've never seen him like _that_." Instructor White gazed through the wide glass windows of the corridor. It wasn't quite sunset yet, but the shadows were growing longer and the day was nearing its end. Through the right hand window, the precision-cut stone of the quad gleamed and sparkled in the evening sunshine. She continued; "And she's the client for this thing? Squall's the last person I'd have thought would mix business and pleasure."

 _Hmm… I hope she hasn't got the wrong idea here._ Quistis tried to clear things up; "It's not quite like that. He was telling the truth when he said Rinoa's the client… but there's also a lot he didn't mention. It's a long story… I…" Quistis trailed off mid-sentence. The silence was punctuated only by the hard klack of her boots against the polished corridor floor as she walked. Quistis wanted her to understand, but her mind boggled at the task explaining what they'd all been through. While she was trying to find a way in, an angle she could latch onto as the basis of an answer, Instructor White threw her a bone.

"Look… I know your team recently came back from the most important mission SeeD ever undertook. I'm guessing Rinoa was somehow part of that… and circumstances pushed the two of them together. Am I in the right ballpark?" Quistis let out a sigh of relief. _OK… sounds like she kind of understands._ As they exited the corridor and entered the cooler atmosphere of the central hub, Quistis confirmed; "Pretty much, yes." Instructor White let out a quiet laugh; "Those must have been some circumstances… I don't think I can recall a single moment where Squall expressed even the slightest interest in a girl."

Reminded of her own recent failures on that very point, Quistis frowned; "The last few months have been hard going… I think we've all changed a little after everything we've been through." Reflecting on the part she'd played in their recent adventures and the self-awareness she'd gained about her own feelings towards their squad leader, Quistis quietly added; "I know I have." As they left the path from the cafeteria and joined the main walkway, Instructor White asked; "What about the cowboy and the Trabian girl?" Quistis was a little surprised that Instructor White had picked up on the vibe between those two in the relatively brief time they'd spent around the cafeteria table just now. "Ah… that…" She had to admit, the level of perceptiveness on display here was impressive; "You don't miss much, do you?" Instructor White smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"I suppose you could say that circumstances are still pushing those two together." Before any further questions came her way, Quistis continued; "And to complete the picture, Zell's infatuated with one of the girls on the library committee." Instructor White looked at Quistis. _Nice try._ She adopted a slightly mischievous tone and dropped the question Quistis tried to dodge; "And you?" Quistis stopped in her tracks where the path to the dorms met the central ring, shaking her head. In a deliberately flat and unemotive tone, she replied; "Single and loving it." Instructor White's comeback was phrased in an equally sardonic form. With one eyebrow raised at Quistis in disbelief, she said; "Is that so…? You being the stunning, statuesque Instructor with her own campus fanclub of dedicated obsessives and all, some might find that difficult to believe." Quistis frowned and crossed her arms; "… _former_ Instructor." Instructor White offered an apologetic smile; "Sorry… I didn't mean to bring that up."

* * *

The rose-coloured glow of a flawless sunset poured through Squall's dorm room window, turning the white walls pink. For perhaps fifteen magical minutes, the spartan surroundings would be transformed by the tinted sunbeams into a warm, almost homely space.

The majority of long-term occupants in the SeeD dorms made at least some effort to round off the sharp edges of their accomodation. Some threw rugs over the hard floor tiles, some went to the trouble of putting up curtains around the main window, others would even add their own pieces of furniture. Squall, of course, had taken no such measures. Although he could fall back on the excuse of not having had the room very long, his single quarters had been kept standard to an almost stubborn extent. Standard bed, standard two-seater sofa, standard desk lamp, standard window blinds. It was only the presence of his jacket hanging from the rail on the wall, the stack of _Weapons Monthly_ magazines on the small desk in the corner and the distinctive gunblade case leant against the far wall that gave any clue as to the identity of the inhabitant. As the final glorious rays of the dying sun streamed in, Squall sat at one end of the two-seater sofa and Rinoa lay across his lap, spread out across the sofa's length. Her head rested on the nearest arm of the sofa and her feet dangled playfully in mid-air over the far arm, casting a shadow on the door.

Squall felt mentally drained. This was the first moment since he woke this morning that he could actually sit and take stock of everything that had happened earlier. The relative lull in activity they'd enjoyed in the past few days since returning to Balamb had definitely come to an end now. Squall's left hand rested just below Rinoa's navel while his right hand gently stroked her hair. Behind closed eyes, Rinoa focused on the sensation of Squall's fingers running softly through her luscious black mane. She could happily stay like this all evening, but an earlier promise to a friend resurfaced in her mind. Rinoa opened her eyes and looked up at Squall. With the light streaming in through the window behind him, his outline took on a faint amber glow. With a smile, she thought; _It's almost like he's cast an Aura spell._ Quietly, she asked; "You know how much Selphie wants this cover story to work, right?" Squall looked down at Rinoa and smiled; "Yeah it's pretty obvious. She nearly burst when we said we'd try it out."

"I know you're not exactly thrilled at the idea… but…" Rinoa winced slightly as she told Squall about the view Selphie had formed; "…she thinks you hate it." Squall paused and thought about that for a second. He found himself questioning whether he'd been so hostile earlier in the day to warrant Selphie drawing that conclusion. _I wasn't that harsh was I? I just wanna be sure that it's gonna work… and we're a long way from proving that._ He looked at Rinoa and protested in a flat voice; "I don't hate it." Her head tilted a little and her expression changed to one of knowing disbelief. _Come on, you don't exactly love it either._ Squall's shoulders slumped slightly as he conceded; "Okay, I admit, I wish we'd come up with something else… but I'm quite prepared to make an ass of myself in public if it keeps the Galbadians off our trail." Rinoa was somewhat reassured by that, but her expression changed again as she remembered something else she needed to tell him; "We missed her birthday too."

Squall looked away in frustration. _Shit._ Of the six of them, Selphie was the one who'd take that kind of thing to heart. Instinctively he felt bad for his friend and hoped she hadn't drawn the conclusion that they didn't care. They absolutely cared. Squall looked down at Rinoa again with a concerned frown on his face; "When was it?" Rinoa breathed out heavily through her nose, her chest falling as she did so; "About three weeks ago." Squall nodded slowly in understanding and resumed running his fingers through Rinoa's hair. As he looked at her, his thoughts wandered back to the traumatic recent past; _You were in a coma. I couldn't think about anything except how to bring you back._ As Squall's fingers brushed past her temple, Rinoa's left arm slid up beside her face to catch Squall's hand. She gently gripped his hand in hers, then turned her face into his palm and kissed it softly.

She looked back up at Squall and laced her fingers through his, gently pressing his hand to the side of her face. "I know the Instructor lady is going to make the call, but we've got to try as hard as we can tomorrow. If she says no, I don't want to look back on it and think our hearts weren't really in it. That'd be horrible and I'm not sure I could look Selphie in the eye." She stared at Squall intently; "Promise me you'll give it your best shot?" He took a deep breath, then replied softly; "Of course I will." Squall brushed his thumb lightly across her cheek, then shared his thoughts in a low, soft tone; "If it's a 'no'… we're right back where we started, with no cover story." He smiled slightly as he admitted; "I'm not sure if that's better or worse." Rinoa's response was delicate but hopeful, and barely more than a whisper; "There's a chance she'll say yes though." With eyes wide, she asked; "Are you ready for that?" Rinoa could feel Squall's diaphragm sink as he exhaled long and slow; "As ready as I'll ever be."

She had a point. The answer _might_ be yes. For the first time since Selphie voiced it earlier that afternoon, Squall began to seriously consider the notion of adopting this cover story for the duration of the mission. His mind boggled at the prospect. A long silence endured until he finally broke it; "If she says yes… there's gonna be a ton of work to do before we head to Timber." Rinoa's right hand found Squall's left on her abdomen, her fingers resting on his. Nervously, she asked; "You really think we can do it?" Squall was still unconvinced. He looked down at her and said; "A drummer who's never played the drums… and a bass player who's never played the bass… Let's just say I have my doubts."

Rinoa bit her lip slightly, feeling a little embarrassed; "I meant… freeing Timber." Squall smiled; "Oh… right. It's possible, but it's not gonna be easy." A few seconds passed and Rinoa noticed his expression become more serious. He looked deep in thought. _Something's obviously nagging at him._ Rinoa's left hand travelled up towards Squall's face. She pressed her index finger lightly against his forehead as she said; "What's going on in there? Come on, share." He looked back down at her wearing a half-smile. He had to admit, nobody could get him to open up like she could. Although there were times he'd prefer to keep his thoughts to himself, Rinoa's knack for drawing him out of his shell was, unexpectedly, one of the things he'd come to adore about her. When he was compelled to talk to other people, Squall often found the words didn't come naturally and took some effort. Rinoa was one of the few the exceptions. Talking to her felt as natural and effortless as breathing in and out.

Readying his answer, he inhaled deeply through his nose; "I've been over all the material I can find on the invasion. A lot of it's just Galbadian chest-thumping. They say history is written by the winners so I guess that's to be expected but… there's something that doesn't make sense to me. When you filter out all the noise and focus on the hard facts, I don't understand how the Galbadians succeeded like they did. Everything I know about war tells me that it should have been possible for Timber to repel the invasion 18 years ago… or _at least_ slow it down. There's no way Timber should've fallen as quickly or as easily as it did." Rinoa scrunched her face, feeling a mixture of confusion and worry. Anxiously, she asked "What does it mean?" Squall sighed; "I don't know. I've got this horrible feeling that there's something I'm not seeing. Like there's a missing piece of the puzzle." A few seconds passed until an idea hit Rinoa. She shuffled slightly, then said; "There's someone you could ask about it." Squall was intrigued; "Who?"

"Laguna." Squall's face fell at the prospect, but she persisted; "He was there wasn't he? As a soldier in the G-Army? Maybe he knows what happened back then." Mid-sentence, another thought came to her; "And… he's the only person I know who's done what we're trying to do. He liberated a country. He's got to have some useful advice for us." Squall's attention wandered across the pink walls of the dorm room as he weighed up Rinoa's suggestion. _Ugh… once that motor-mouthed idiot gets started_ … Squall looked down at Rinoa again and said; "Esthar wasn't occupied by another country, so it's not quite the same, but… you're right. He was there 18 years ago when the invasion happened and he helped overthrow a tyrant. I guess I'll ask him about both." Rinoa smiled in the disappearing pink-red light; "I'm sure it'll be a fascinating conversation… but that's for another day." Rinoa laid her head back on the arm of the sofa; "Right now…" She closed her eyes and longed for the sensation of Squall's fingers running through her hair; "…keep doing what you were doing."


	8. The Fake and the Real

"It's okay baby… let it all out. You don't have to pretend you're alright." And with that, the floodgates burst wide open. Selphie shook, convulsed and howled as the bitter waves of grief crashed over her. Irvine said nothing but circled her in his arms and held her tight, his left hand cradling the back of her head. She balled the material of his shirt in tightly-clenched fists around his shoulders, while his shirt front became damp with tears. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried so hard. She'd wept when they'd visited the wreckage of Trabia Garden, but… not like this. They'd had a mission to complete, orders to follow, a goal to concentrate on… there'd been no time to stop and process the full horror of what they'd discovered between the snow-capped Trabian peaks. She had to remain focused, their lives depended on it.

But… with the mission over and the imminent threat defeated, Selphie was finding it harder and harder to control her thoughts when she only had herself for company. The last couple of nights had been particularly tough. She looked up at Irvine briefly, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her voice cracked as she forced out the words from a raw throat; "I try to stay positive… but…" She paused for breath and swallowed; "…it's so hard. When I think about…" She trailed off, too choked up to complete the sentence. There was no need. He knew. Irvine's arms settled around Selphie's waist again and squeezed her tight. He tried to reassure her; "You don't have to carry it all on your own. I'm here for you." Selphie buried her head in Irvine's chest. Through her yellow dress Irvine could feel her ribcage expand and contract rapidly as she breathed hard and fought back the sobs. Slowly, as each second passed in Irvine's tight embrace, the toxic, swirling cocktail of panic and despair that surrounded her receded back into the dark periphery of her subconscious. In its place, an unfamiliar mixture of emotions began to flood her body, gradually calming her.

The seconds rolled into minutes as they held each other and Irvine felt Selphie's breathing slow to a more normal rate. He hoped that was a good sign and the worst of it might be over for her now. Muffled by Irvine's damp shirt, she whispered; "Thank you." He tilted his head and looked down at her; "For what?" With her face still buried firmly in his chest, she quietly replied; "For… everything." When he didn't respond straight away, Selphie turned her head slightly, making it easier for her to speak; "…for coming to Timber with me… for trying to learn the bass… and… for not running straight for the door when I can't keep it together…" Irvine squeezed her a little tighter as he said; "You don't have to pretend that you're happy when you're not… well, not for me you don't… and…" There was something else too; "I know you can handle yourself… but… I'm not gonna let you walk back into danger without me." He frowned as he fought back a sombre thought; _If anything were to happen to her…_ The horrible prospect of Selphie coming to harm sharpened Irvine's mind, and after a brief pause he found himself confessing; "You're the only thing that keeps me going." Selphie looked up at him as he tried to explain how much she meant to him; "I never forgot the orphanage, never forgot how you made me feel. And… for the first time since then, I'm happy again. I mean… truly happy… like when we were kids, running up and down the beach all day without a care in the world."

Selphie buried her face in Irvine's chest again and her arms squeezed him tight. His words had put a lump in her throat. They held each other again, this time the seconds were punctuated by Selphie's sniffles and gulps. The unfamiliar emotions grew stronger as she clung to him. Whatever these feelings were, they'd chased away the encroaching darkness and now they were pushing her thoughts in a different direction. Irvine stroked Selphie's hair as the digital clock on the sideboard flicked from 22:59 to 23:00. She moved her head slightly. A question was on the tip of her tongue, something she had to know the answer to. It carried within it the kind of dangerous hope she thought she'd long ago become incapable of holding. Irvine could just about make out her words as she whispered into his chest; "Irvy… is this… real?"

If he was honest, the way she'd phrased the question unsettled him. It carried a sense of desperation, the tone of a girl grasping for any handle she could reach to maintain a grip on reality. His slow breathing halted for a moment while he pondered how to answer that in a way that wouldn't seem dismissive but also wouldn't freak her out. After a few seconds, he opted for the only response he thought made any sense, softly asking; "Is what real?" She sniffed; "You and me." Irvine froze at Selphie's response. He'd wanted this moment to arrive for so long, but now it was actually here, in these absurd circumstances, the words just wouldn't come. It was as if he walked a terrifying tightrope; if he gushed about his feelings, she might find it too much to cope with and bolt… but if he reverted to stereotype and tried to play it cool, she'd probably take that as a "no" and permanently write him off as a shallow, skirt-chasing jackass. His mind raced as it desperately tried to verbalise his true feelings in a way that struck that fragile, delicate balance. The seconds rushed past. He kicked himself at his inability to formulate a response; _Just say something!_ Still unsure how he was going to answer, Irvine took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak.

"I think… in the past… sometimes I lost track of what's real and what's fake. Sometimes it felt like the fakeness was everywhere, like it seeped into everything around me and sucked all the colours and tastes and textures out of the world. And… when I felt like that, I started to think and act like everything was just a charade. The things I really thought and felt had to be locked away so I could fit into this fake world, where perceptions mattered more than what was actually true. For years in Galbadia, it was like that. I hate that I fell into that way of thinking, but…" he looked down at her "…you shook me out of it." Feeling his gaze settle on her, Selphie glanced up to meet it head on. Irvine continued; "When I saw you again, all those things I'd kept hidden for so long came rushing back to the surface. At first.. I think… I panicked. I tried so hard to keep a lid on it and carry on the way I always had… but I couldn't. It didn't work. I think… when people find something real in the huge sea of fakeness, they feel it in a way they can't explain or don't understand. And… I've seen how, in the end, the real overpowers the fake. The only answer I can give you is that this feels real to me… more so than anything else I can remember. So… if you want me… and, god, I hope you do… I'm yours."

Selphie's heart pounded like a hammer. She gripped him as tight as she dared and rested her face against his chest. In a wavering voice, she said "I'm frightened." Irvine rested his chin on the top of Selphie's head and rubbed his hand up and down her back. He could feel her trembling. His own emotions were close to fever pitch but he still had enough control and perspective to form the thought; _She's way out of her comfort zone, poor thing._ Still, she hadn't run away, or kicked him out of her room. As far as he could tell he still walked that tightrope, having survived a fairly major wobble. Replaying her words in his head, Irvine was reminded of his earlier conversation with Squall. He smiled slightly and eventually replied; "Me too." Selphie tilted her head back and looked up at Irvine in surprise. That wasn't what she'd expected from the self-aggrandising 'expert on women'. Looking a little confused, she asked; "What have you got to be scared about?" Irvine took a deep breath, then recounted the part of his 'little chat' with Squall that left him a slightly rattled; "Squall made it very clear earlier… if I ever did anything to hurt you… he'd brutally murder me in the most horrific way imaginable."

Selphie giggled and saw an opportunity to tease; "Oh I wouldn't need _any_ help from Squall." Irvine laughed; "I know you wouldn't baby. Still, a man's gotta be wary of the prospect of being killed horribly… twice." Still holding her tight, he shuffled a little; "Anyway… I could ask you the same question. What's got you frightened?" Selphie's expression changed, becoming more serious and sincere; "I've… never felt like this about anyone before." Irvine's expression also changed, mirroring hers; "There wasn't anyone special in Trabia?" She thought back to her time there and shook her head; "No… A couple of boys dropped the hint that they liked me, but… I… pushed them away. I just couldn't deal with it." He wasn't really surprised to learn that a few had tried and failed before him. She was a pretty girl. Heads turned when they walked around the corridors of the Garden together. She looked up at him with eyes full of regret; "I tried to push you away too. I'm sorry… I wish I hadn't." He smiled; "You don't get rid of me that easy."

Selphie felt fluid trickle out of her nose and sniffed hard, emitting a loud grunting noise as she did so. _Awww noooo… that can't have sounded attractive._ Still cradling Selphie firmly with his right arm, Irvine reached over and grabbed the box of tissues he'd spotted on her desk. "Here." Selphie yanked a tissue out of the box and held it to her face, suddenly feeling very self-conscious. She didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes were red, her nose was running and there was zero chance her makeup had withstood the torrent of tears she'd cried a few minutes ago. _I don't want him to think of me like this._ She sniffed more gently this time and cupped the sides of her face in her hands; "God… I'm a complete mess." Irvine brushed her fringe back with his hand as he tried to reassure her; "A completely _adorable_ mess."

She managed a smile. _He's such a bad liar… I probably look like an extra from a horror movie right now._ She wiped away a stray tear from her cheek as she said; "I _really_ need to go and sort myself out." Irvine released Selphie from his embrace and she crawled backwards off the bed. Turning toward the far end of the room, she said; "Stay there and get comfortable… I'll be back in a few minutes." Selphie quickly walked over to the other end of the room, grabbed a few things out of a drawer and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving him alone in the main living space. He reached back across the bed for one of the pillows, span it around 90 degrees and laid it up against the headboard. He shuffled around to lean back against it, breathing a heavy sigh as he settled in place. He felt shattered. The last few minutes had been very emotionally intense and he needed a moment or two to take it all in.

Responding to the sound of running water from the shower, his eyes wandered over to the bathroom door. There was a plant in a large pot next to it. He had no idea what kind of plant it was, but it stood maybe four feet tall and looked healthily verdant. He was puzzled at how she'd managed to keep it like that when they'd been away so frequently. _I guess it could be new…_ Looking to his left, he saw a much smaller plant sat on the desk next to the window. The smaller plant was also in fine condition but far from having the desk to itself, it had to share the surface with a dressing mirror, numerous cans of hairspray, various brushes and rollers, a sturdy-looking silver hair dryer and an assortment of lipsticks. Looking closer, he noticed mascaras and eyeliner pencils strewn at random across the surface. There was also a set of what looked like white pyjamas slung over the back of the desk chair.

His thoughts were drawn back to the words she'd said a few minutes ago. _You and me._ Already he found himself questioning whether she'd actually said it or if he'd imagined it. The background noise level dropped as the sound of the shower ceased. His pulse quickened at the thought of Selphie's imminent return. Looking down, he noticed his palms had become clammy with nervous excitement. _Ufff… She's not gonna want that._ He quickly rubbed his hands across his trousers and tried to fight down the rising nerves. _Get a grip._ He took a slow, deep breath. _In… out… that's it._ Feeling a little calmer, Irvine tried to keep his mind occupied by analysing his surroundings. Pink duvet cover, frilly cushions on the sofa and a discarded bra hanging over the rim of the washing basket… this was very definitely a girl's room. It looked as though Selphie had taken a few small steps to personalise things to her liking but there'd been no drastic transformation. He suspected the large amount of time they'd been away, combined with the residential restrictions that applied to SeeD dorms had probably diminished the individual twist she would otherwise have liked to put on the room. He smiled to himself; _Sorry babe, that eight foot mural of Sir Laguna jumping over a rainbow on the back of a unicorn is probably against the rules._

The bathroom door handle turned and Selphie re-emerged. Irvine's attention was instantly captivated. It looked like she'd towel-dried her hair but the lingering moisture changed its colour from light to dark brown. Her trademark outturned curls were gone, instead her damp, tousled hair hung straight and rested over her shoulders. In place of her yellow dress, she wore a white satin chemise that showed off her curvy figure to devastating effect. As she walked back across the room towards him, her breasts struck an offbeat to the rhythm of her footsteps. The delicate satin rippled, danced and shimmered under the soft amber glow of the room's lights. Irvine was utterly transfixed. When she stopped next to the bed, he looked her up and down. She wore that familiar warm smile of hers which had been conspicuous by its absence a little earlier. Her eyes weren't bloodshot and her nose wasn't running any more. Selphie looked down at him and noticed the mark she'd left on Irvine's shirt. With an apology, she pointed it out; "Oh… I'm sorry about that." Irvine looked down to where she pointed. _Oh right, the damp patch._ He smiled and shrugged; "Don't worry about it. It'll dry out." However, it did give him an idea. Remembering the hair dryer next to Selphie's dressing mirror, Irvine clambered off the bed and picked it up.

"Can I dry you off?" Selphie didn't respond verbally, instead she crawled onto the bed and knelt on the mattress with her back to Irvine, resting her hands on her thighs. He flicked the switch on the wall socket, then slid the power switch on the hair dryer to a medium setting. With a loud roar it kicked into life. He stood behind her for a couple of minutes, running his fingers through her hair, angling the hair dryer this way and that, trying to ensure the jet of hot air reached every lock. Happy that the back was dry, Irvine briefly switched off the hair dryer and said; "Okay, turn around." Selphie shuffled around on her knees until they were facing each other. She gave him a cheeky smile before closing her eyes in anticipation of the blast of hot air to come. Irvine switched the hair dryer on again. Just as he'd done previously, he moved the dryer around her for a minute or so, checking Selphie's hair with his fingers, looking for anywhere he might have missed. Carried away with the enticing sight in front of him, Irvine chanced his luck a little. He brushed Selphie's fringe away from her eyes, then slowly ran his index finger down her nose until it settled on her lips.

In a state of heightened sensitivity behind closed eyelids, a giddy sense of excitement welled up within Selphie, spurring her on. She formed her lips into a pout and kissed the tip of Irvine's finger. As excitement took over, her inhibitions began to fall away. With her eyes still closed, she giggled softly, then took the tip of Irvine's finger in her mouth. _Oh god._ Irvine instantly felt the blood rush to his groin. He exhaled hard, trying to retain control. _Still got a job to finish here._ He brushed his hand across Selphie's cheek then ran his fingers through her hair one last time, checking for any remaining damp locks. There didn't seem to be any, her hair was almost completely dry now. It had returned to its normal colour but the outturned curls were still absent. He switched off the hair dryer and looked down at her, intrigued by her slightly altered appearance. When she opened her vibrant green eyes and looked up at him, time seemed to stop. A single thought bloomed, filling the entirety of Irvine's mind; _I love this girl._

Noticing the serious look on his face, Selphie asked; "Is something wrong?" His expression softened as he smiled and said; "No… it's just… there's something I have to do…" He knelt down until they were face to face; "I can't wait any longer." He took a deep breath. _Now or never._ Irvine's arm slid around her waist and his hand cradled the back of her head. He slowly narrowed the gap between them until their lips touched. Encouraged by the sensation, Selphie closed her eyes and leaned into the kiss. As their tongues met, it felt like every nerve ending in her body was buzzing with electrical charge. Acting mainly on instinct now, her hands travelled over Irvine's shirt, across his shoulders and met at the back of his neck, just beneath the base of his ponytail.

Neither of them could say how long that kiss lasted. Time, light and space couldn't encroach on the moment. It was Selphie who eventually needed to come up for air, perhaps because her nose had already been working overtime with all the tears she'd shed earlier. Pulling back, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. Irvine's lips broadened into a smile, but his jaw involuntarily opened as he let loose a yawn. _For fuck's sake._ He struck a contrite expression and tried to dig himself out of the hole he now found himself in; "I'm so sorry… please don't take that as a sign of what I'm feeling right now 'cos it's _really_ not." She wore a sympathetic look as she asked; "You tired?" It _was_ getting late. Irvine reluctantly had to admit that he was starting to feel the pull of sleep; "I didn't think I was, but…" He stopped dead in his tracks as he realised something; "…oh _shit_." Selphie looked concerned for a second; "What?" Irvine looked away in annoyance as he said; "I forgot to go and see the quartermaster." A horrible jolt of anguish shot right through Selphie at the thought of their evening together coming to an end. She had a decision to make. Was she going to send Irvine away to spend another night in a sleeping bag on Zell's floor, or… "Stay with me." The words slipped out of her mouth before she'd even finished the thought.

 _This is happening pretty fast._ "Selphie… sweetheart… are you sure?" With wide eyes, she nodded sincerely and whispered; "Please… I want you to." A couple of seconds passed before he softly replied; "Alright." She leaned close and kissed him again. When their lips parted, Selphie quickly climbed off the bed and span round towards the far end of the room. Just as she was about to take a step away from him, Irvine caught her hand and stopped her in her tracks. In a playful voice, he asked; "Where you goin'?" She leant towards him, closing the gap between them and kissed the tip of his nose. Her face hovered a couple of inches from his as she answered; "To make some coffee." Any remaining doubt about Selphie's intentions melted away as she bit her lip, delicately slipped the left strap of her chemise over her shoulder and made a point of squeezing her breasts together between her upper arms, emphasising her cleavage. She looked Irvine straight in the eyes and softly teased; "You don't wanna go to sleep just yet… do you?"

* * *

A quiet ping from the laptop on the coffee table at the other end of the room caught Squall's attention. "I should check it." Still half-asleep, Rinoa protested; "Oh… Squall… noooo… just leave it." The sheets ruffled as Squall slung his legs over the edge of the bed and got to his feet. He walked barefoot across the floor, sat on the sofa and opened the laptop on the table in front of him. He drummed his fingers as he waited for it to wake up fully. Knowing she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep while Squall was probably fussing over some pointless footnote of Garden protocol, Rinoa climbed out of bed walked over to the sofa where he sat. She stood behind it, watching him. When the OS finally kicked back into life, the laptop screen softly illuminated the room in a cold blue light. Squall noticed a "1" hovering over the icon for his inbox. He clicked on it. There was a new message from Ellone.

 _Hi Squall,  
_ _We're on the last day of our trip to Winhill, we had so much catching up to do! I'd forgotten how much I love this place, it's so pretty here with flowers everywhere you turn. The whole town has a sweet floral scent that I'd forgotten about until I stepped out of the car on the first day here. It's so strange. All these years of running and hiding seem to be coming to an end, and I guess I have you and your friends to thank for that. We're heading back to Esthar soon, we're going to drive to Timber, then catch the train to Balamb where a ship will pick us up for the last part of the journey. Can we meet up with you when we're in Balamb? We should be there on Sunday. I'd love to see you again and Uncle Laguna has something important he needs to talk to you about.  
_ _Love, Sis._

From behind the sofa, Rinoa asked; "So… was it worth getting out of bed for?" Squall briefly looked over his shoulder, then returned his attention to the screen in front of him; "It's from Ellone. She says they'll be in Balamb on Sunday and they want to meet up." Rinoa felt somewhat relieved that the message did seem to be worth the disruption to their sleep after all. She slid her hands down past Squall's shoulders and across his chest, hugging him from behind; "Hey, that's good news. You didn't have the chance to talk to her much before the whole time compression thing happened. I guess you want to catch up with her properly don't you?" Squall nodded and quietly confirmed Rinoa's assumption; "…yeah." Rinoa kissed the top of Squall's head, then asked; "I guess Laguna's with her? Are you gonna ask him about the invasion while he's here?" Squall didn't move, but tersely responded in a flat tone; "Yeah."

Rinoa recognised this pattern of behaviour by now: something weighed on Squall's mind, something he probably didn't want to talk about. Rather than dig for it, Rinoa decided that the best plan might be to just wait for Squall to unburden himself. She figured that taking the opposite route was likely to cause him to clam up and withdraw, particularly as he was tired. After a long pause, her chosen tactic paid off. Squall revealed the part of Ellone's email that really had him unsure how to feel; "She says he wants to talk to me about something as well." Moving her hands back to Squall's shoulders as she stood upright, Rinoa asked; "Does she say what?" Squall shook his head dismissively; "No… she just says it's important." Under his breath, he muttered; "I think I can make an educated guess though." Rinoa wore a curious expression; "What d'you think it is?" Squall exhaled hard through his nose, then took a deep breath before answering; "The fact that he's my biological father."

Rinoa's expression fell into a frown as she reprimanded him; "Squall… you shouldn't joke about stuff like that." Flatly, he replied; "I'm not joking." A sense of cold dread rooted Rinoa to the spot for a second, and the emotionless tone Squall struck just then didn't do anything to quell her sense of growing unease. Slowly, she opened her mouth; "You're… not…?" His eyes still fixed on the screen in front of him, Squall shook his head. She darted around the sofa and took the left hand seat next to him. "Squall… look at me… are you serious?" He turned to face her and answered; "Yes." Rinoa's mind was reeling; "How… what… I mean… what makes you think he's your father?" Squall inhaled deeply, preparing to join the dots for her; "When we were in Esthar, Kiros told me 'I don't look like my father' and 'I look a lot like my mother'. So… unless he was lying… that means he knows who both my parents are." Squall stopped to draw another breath before revealing the second key piece of information he'd filed away; "And… I know Laguna and Raine had a child together. Ellone told me that."

In her half-waking state, Rinoa could just about follow Squall's line of thought; "You think… that child was you?" Squall nodded; "Yes." Rinoa emptied her lungs and sank into the backrest of the sofa, trying to process what she'd just heard. "I remember Laguna talked about Raine when we met him in Esthar, but…" She didn't know how to finish that sentence. For a few seconds, they both sat there motionless. Rinoa's mind eventually latched on to something Squall had said. _He looks like his mother…? He… looks like Raine?_ Breaking the silence, she asked; "Do you have a picture of her?" Squall didn't respond straight away, instead his attention returned to the laptop in front of him. He minimised his inbox, then opened the portal to the Garden's internal network. Rinoa watched as he clicked on the Garden Festival Committee section, then on Selphie's _Sir Laguna's Page_. He flicked through the entries until he found the one he was looking for. He picked up the laptop, and handed it to Rinoa, saying; "That's the only photo I know of."

On the screen was an article from an old issue of Timber Maniacs that Selphie must have run through the colour scanner down in the Library. The source material was worn and faded with some of the copy having degraded to the point of being unreadable, but Rinoa immediately fixated on the picture that accompanied the piece. The photo seemed to be taken in an old-fashioned country pub of some kind, with light pouring into the shot through ornate stained-glass windows at the back of the scene. Like the article's text, the image had also degraded over the years, but she could make out a woman in a white jumper with long brown hair sat next to the bar in the centre of the shot. The detailed facial features that Rinoa hoped to find in the photo had, unfortunately, faded with time. The only conclusive comparison Rinoa could make was that both Squall and the woman in the photo seemed to have roughly the same colour hair. Squall could tell what she was thinking; "I know it's not a great photo, but I saw what she looked like when Ellone took us to the dreamworld."

Rinoa looked over at him; "Do you think you look like her?" Squall rubbed his forehead, partly out of frustration and partly from tiredness. Quietly, he replied; "…Maybe." Rinoa put the laptop back down on the table and looked at Squall; "I…" She struggled to find the words; "I can't even begin to imagine what you're feeling right now." Squall didn't answer, reaching instead for the laptop where Rinoa had put it down in front of them. He closed the window containing Raine's photo and re-opened his inbox. Rinoa worriedly asked; "What are you doing?". Again, his eyes didn't stray from the screen as he answered; "Writing a reply." A burst of keystrokes followed as he typed;

 _Hi Sis,  
_ _Can meet up on Sunday but need you to do something for me on your way here. When you get to the bridge across the Lollapalooza river can you stop and take some photos of it? That would help me out a lot. Get as many shots as you can. Let me know which train you're on and I'll meet you at the station. Fairly sure I know what Laguna wants to discuss. Tell him I'll have a blood sample ready.  
_ _S._

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Okay, so, I'm going to add a section on the end of this chapter to thank everyone for their reviews (and their patience!) and explain a bit more about this fic.

The premise I adopted when first thinking about this story was "what if the narrative didn't stop at the end of the game and the story just continued?" I thought there were enough loose ends left to form the basis of a rich story without going AU - the biggest being the unfulfilled contract between Garden and the Owls, although there are other hooks too (Selphie/Irvine, Laguna/Squall to name but a few). I've nothing against AU stories by the way, but for me a big part of the motivation in writing this fic was to revisit the incredible world that these characters originate from - and in some cases to flesh it out a bit more with more with new characters and locations. Another major motive was to sharpen my writing skills. I'm replaying the game as I write, scouring the source material for anything that might prove useful.

It's only really now, some 40k words in, that I realise how much work I've created for myself. Various bits of future chapters already exist in different stages of development, but there's still a long way to go! I'll keep updating the fic, but I can't make any promises as to how long chapters take to arrive. I've recently changed jobs and the amount of time I have to spend on this is less than it was. Thank you for sticking with it this far!


	9. What Happens In The Basement (Part 1)

Zell bounded down the five steps from the elevator; "Morning!" Squall briefly looked up from the equipment he was kneeling next to and returned Zell's greeting; "Morning." From the bottom of the steps, Zell cast an eye around the basement. With it's strange lighting and iridescent blue floor, he found it a little creepy down here. Over to the far left, somebody had clearly started using the dead space between the lift and the wall as a kind of makeshift storage area. A pile of assorted junk, mainly various bits of salvage from the battle of the gardens, had built up. Poking out of the pile, he could see one of the Garden's large, powerful ceiling lights with a shattered lens, a damaged motorbike and bits of stage rigging he vaguely recognised from the Quad and Fisherman's Horizon. A deflated basketball sat on top of an old study terminal. Two ornately decorated panels from NORG's pod could just about be seen at the back of the pile. _Man_ … he thought… _you could start a junk shop down here_. _At least it's all piled up in one place rather than spread all over everywhere…_

At the far end of the basement, Squall was kneeling down, busy plugging cables into a tatty old amplifier. There were three mic stands facing in roughly the same direction set up maybe ten feet apart from each other. Various cables trailed across the floor into what looked like a mixing desk; which rested in turn on a small table. Zell noted a keyboard on a stand and a few items he took to be instrument cases leant up against the wall, but his attention was instantly fixated on the drum kit that had been set up a little further back. His eyes widened at the sight of it; "OH BABY!"

He took several steps closer to the kit and looked it over, the excitement building in him that he'd soon get the chance to try it out. Having finished with the amplifier, Squall stood up, wandered over and gestured towards the drum kit; "Instructor White put that together. I wouldn't have a clue how to set it up." Zell looked around; "She's here too?" Squall nodded; "Yeah, she's gone to get a few things from the second floor." Zell began to wonder if he was actually late to the party; "How long've you been here? I'm not late am I?" Squall shook his head; "No, you're not late. No one else has turned up yet. We got here early to start setting up. There's a load of stuff that needed to be moved down here for today. Had to tidy up some of the junk over there too." Squall pointed at the pile of random oddities beyond the elevator shaft. "Some of it must have fallen down and slid about the last time we were airborne." Zell found himself thinking; _There's a lot of stuff over there… that must have taken a while._ He asked; "How long have you been setting up for?" Squall shrugged; "About 45 minutes. I left Rinoa and Quistis in the cafeteria having breakfast. They said they'd come down at 9:00, so they'll probably be down here any minute."

The sound of the elevator door opening again caught Zell's attention, but it wasn't Quistis and Rinoa stepping out of the shaft. Instructor White carefully wheeled out a porter trolley with two large boxes balanced on it, one stacked on top of the other. Zell saw an opportunity to make himself useful and headed back up the steps to the elevator; "Hey, let me give you a hand with that." Instructor White saw him coming up the steps and said; "Thanks Zell… I have no idea why the people who built this place couldn't extend the elevator shaft another three feet so that the blasted thing would stop at floor level and we wouldn't have this problem." Zell took the upper box from the porter trolley as Squall appeared at the bottom of the short set of steps, ready to take the second box. The box Zell carried wasn't particularly heavy, but it dawned on him then that he had no idea where he should be carrying it to.

He looked at Squall and asked; "Where d'you want this one?" Squall looked blank for a second; "Err…" He turned back to face Instructor White, who was mid-way through spinning the porter trolley around. He called up the steps; "What's in the box Zell's holding?" Over her shoulder, she replied; "Extension cables." Squall looked down at the box he held; "…and this one?" From inside the elevator, she shouted back; "Random stuff." With that, the elevator doors slid shut as Instructor White and porter trolley disappeared back to the upper levels. Squall indicated with a directional nod of the head where he wanted Zell to put the box he was holding; "Over there somewhere, by the wall."

Zell did as instructed, and with his task complete he walked back over to the drum kit. He sat at the stool and cracked his knuckles, ready for action. "Hey, what gives? There's no sticks! Does the Instructor have 'em?" Squall shrugged; "I don't know. You'll have to ask her when she comes back." With no sticks to hand, Zell studied the kit in front of him in detail. He brushed his hands over the skin of each drum, testing the tension. Experimentally, he flicked one of the drums with his middle finger. It produced a sharp sound that was loud enough to reverberate around the hall-like edifice. His focus moved on to the impressive gold-coloured cymbals that shimmered under the basement's lights. As he felt the texture of the metal between his thumb and forefinger, the sound of Squall rummaging through one of the large boxes dragged his thoughts away from the kit. He sat upright, hoping his voice would carry over it; "Yo… Squall… You seen Irvine this morning?" Squall's head popped back out of the box for a second as he replied; "Not yet." Zell called back across the large empty space; "I need him to move his stuff out now he's got his own room."

Zell briefly considered the notion of inviting a certain library committee member back to his dorm room. His shoulders slumped slightly; the prospect felt very remote. _It'd be nice if the first thing she saw wasn't Irvine's underpants and gun holsters spread all over the floor. Hell, it would be nice if the first thing I saw in the morning wasn't…_ He looked at Squall, still scrambling around in the same box; "I thought he'd move his crap yesterday, but I didn't see him after we left the cafeteria." Squall briefly re-appeared; "He'll be here in a minute. Tell him then." The sound of the elevator descending again caught both Zell and Squall's attention. This time Quistis and Rinoa emerged as the door slid open. Glancing around, Quistis couldn't help but be impressed by the transformation of this little-known and little-used part of the garden; "You guys have been busy I see." Looking around her, Rinoa was equally fascinated by the changed environment; "Yeah, it's certainly different to how I remember it last time we were down here." The elevator disappeared back up the shaft again as the two women descended the steps to the basement floor.

Squall got to his feet beside the box he'd been searching through. Various hoops of coiled cables hung from his forearm as he walked towards them. As he got closer, Rinoa struck a warm smile and extended her arm towards him; "I thought you might need this." In her hand was a large take-out coffee from the cafeteria above; one of the few places in the Garden where half-decent real coffee was available. Squall's face broke into a smile at the sight of it; "Ahhh… thank you… you're a lifesaver." Careful to keep control of the cables looped around his left arm, he took the cup from Rinoa and gently removed the plastic lid. He lifted it towards his face, inhaled the alluring scent of the beverage through his nose, then took a sip. As he swallowed, the elevator whirred into action again.

The doors parted and Instructor White re-appeared at the top of the steps, carefully pulling the fully laden porter trolley clear of the doors. This time Rinoa and Quistis helped unload it, giving Squall a moment to enjoy his coffee. Quistis grabbed the bass guitar off the trolley while Rinoa took the heavy amplifier that went with it. Quistis looked back at Instructor White and asked; "Where are these going?" She pointed to an empty area halfway between the drum kit and the keyboard; "Over there." Noticing that Instructor White had returned, Zell called out in her direction; "Hey… Instructor… do you have the drumsticks?" She shook her head as she followed Rinoa and Quistis down the steps with the empty trolley; "Try the box of random stuff." Zell nodded, then got up off the stool and walked over to the box Squall had placed by the wall a minute ago.

Squall put his coffee down on the table next to the mixing desk and wandered over to the spot where Quistis and Rinoa had deposited the equipment they carried. He slid the coiled cables off his arm; "I think this is the last thing we need to hook up." He knelt down next to the amplifier while Quistis took a moment to survey the basement for a second time. In addition to the bass they stood beside, she could see two guitars set up and ready to go - one red, one black - a hefty-looking drum kit to her left and a large keyboard covered in all manner of buttons to her right. _There's even more equipment here than when we did the FH thing…_ She looked down at Squall, who was plugging one end of a cable into the amplifier's input jack; "All this equipment… I guess we're not messing about like we did in FH…" Squall's lips curled into a slight smile as he plugged the other end of the cable into the bass; "Nope." _I don't want anyone to be able to say we didn't try…_ Squall's attention was caught mid-thought as the elevator whirred into action yet again.

As Squall got to his feet, the doors slid open. This time Selphie and Irvine stepped out. One by one, the group's attention was diverted towards the pair as it became clear they were holding hands. When they reached the bottom of the steps, Squall walked forward to meet them face to face. The others slowly joined him, congregating around the spot where Irvine and Selphie stood. With his one free hand, Irvine half-successfully suppressed a yawn. Squall looked his friends up and down, making no effort to disguise the fact that he'd noticed their fingers tightly laced together. They both seemed uncharacteristically sheepish and quiet; something Squall put down to their nervousness around the conversation they were about to have. Wanting to get this over with as quickly as he could, Squall folded his arms, raised an eyebrow and jumped straight to the obvious conclusion; "Official now, is it?" Feeling more than a little embarrassed, they faced each other and simultaneously answered; "Yeah." Rinoa let loose a squeal as she clasped her hands together in delight, while Zell stood open-mouthed in complete surprise. He'd spent most of yesterday fretting about his own lovelife and hadn't noticed the signs that Irvine and Selphie's close friendship was developing into something more serious. Quistis folded one hand over the other in front of her and smiled; "I'm so pleased for both of you… we all are." Mindful of the long day ahead of them, Squall was content to leave the interrogation there. He looked at Selphie and pointed to the equipment they'd already set up nearby; "The keyboard awaits."

With relief at the relatively minor grilling they'd received, Selphie nodded forcefully. Accepting the instruction to check the instrument over, she quickly scampered off towards it. Squall put his hand on his hip and turned his attention back to Irvine in front of him. For a few seconds the two men looked at each other but said nothing. Squall's head was tilted slightly but his expression gave nothing away. Irvine's facial features shifted as he struggled to form a sentence that would rebuff Squall's glare. To Irvine's relief, it was Squall who eventually broke the silence. Pointing over his right shoulder with his thumb, he said; "Bass is over there." Irvine smiled and took a step forward, only to feel Squall's hand land upon his shoulder as he tried to walk past. Squall leaned close enough that only Irvine would hear and reminded him in a low voice; "Don't fuck it up." Irvine looked at Squall, nodded slightly with a knowing smile, then slapped him on the back as he continued en route to the bass on the other side of the room.

With Irvine out of earshot, Zell took a step closer to Squall and asked; "What was that about?" Squall didn't move, but quietly replied; "Nothing… it doesn't matter." Zell exhaled as he grappled with Squall's obfuscation. _It didn't look like nothing… but…_ Zell put two and two together; "Guess that explains Irvine's vanishing act last night". Keen to change the subject, Squall turned to face his colleague; "Did you find the sticks?" Zell grinned as he revealed the pair of drumsticks he held in his left hand. Squall still seemed a little distracted, but he nodded slowly and said; "Looks like we're ready to start." They both walked over to the mixing desk where Instructor White was chatting to Quistis. Seeing Squall and Zell approach, they halted their conversation and looked over. Instructor White asked; "How are we doing?" Squall swallowed; "I think we're good to go." She smiled as she thought; _I guess that's my cue._

In a loud voice, Instructor White called out to the group; "Okay… can I have everyone's attention please and could you gather round…" They each made their way over, eventually forming a semi-circle shape around her. "First of all, good morning. I hope everyone had a decent night's sleep… or if you didn't… I hope you've at least had enough caffeine to cover it up." Some of the group smirked at that. Looking down at the table in front of her, Instructor White tried to build on the growing sense of anticipation while also putting the group at ease. She continued; "…and whoever's coffee that is, they'd better claim it in the next five seconds before it gets stolen by me. It smells amazing." Squall reached forward and grabbed the cup off the desk, shooting Instructor White a look; _Yeah… don't think I won't fight you for it_ … Unfazed, Instructor White began to explain what she had planned; "So… today we're going to put your cover story to the test. I've been thinking about the best way to approach this and I reckon we need to split it into three sections. If we just plough ahead without thinking, you're not going to get anywhere." A few subtle nods of acknowledgement among the group indicated that they were following her train of thought so far.

"The first thing we need to do is share some knowledge. A few of you already know your way around an instrument, but… some of you don't. In particular I'm thinking we need to give Zell and Irvine a fighting chance here. And it'd also be useful for the rest of you to have a basic understanding of how all this stuff works." Instructor White pointed to the mixing desk, then the microphones, then the PA speakers before settling her attention on Selphie. "Selphie, I think I heard yesterday that you have some experience with the bass?" She nodded. "Okay, can you give Irvine a crash course?" Selphie nodded with excitement; "Sure!" Instructor White turned to Squall; "Squall, could you explain how the desk works to Quistis… and… also Rinoa, please?" With coffee firmly gripped, Squall replied; "Alright." Finally, Instructor White looked at Zell; "… and Zell, I'm far from the world's greatest drummer, but I'll give you a basic tour of the kit." Zell nodded appreciatively.

Instructor White addressed the group once again; "Everyone happy?" A few nods and "yeahs" were received in response. "Okay, in that case, let's give it an hour and see where we are at 10:00. I'm hoping we'll be ready to assess everyone with an instrument by then and see what you all sound like." She looked at Zell and Irvine alternately as she sought to take the pressure off them; "And guys… don't worry, I'm not expecting miracles after an hour." They both looked somewhat relieved. Rinoa opened her mouth to ask a question; "So… knowledge transfer, then assessment… what's the third thing?" Instructor White glibly replied; "Singing." Squall leaned over towards Rinoa and whispered; "You had to ask." Instructor White put her hands together, then dispatched the group to their various tasks; "Okay, let's go!"

* * *

The reckoning was about to begin for real. A general sense of nervousness cast a slight chill over the basement as the six friends gathered around Instructor White, sat on an assortment of chairs and upturned boxes. She looked at each of them in turn and offered one final piece of advice; "What I'm looking for here is a general feel for what you can do. I only need a couple of minutes at most, that'll give me a rough idea of what you sound like. I don't expect perfection, don't worry about mistakes or anything like that. Try to relax. What happens in the basement stays in the basement." Her gaze brushed past them one by one until she settled on who she wanted to hear first.

"Rinoa could I hear you on the keyboard please?" Rinoa fought down the butterflies in her stomach as she got up and walked over to the instrument on its stand. Testing it out, she pressed a key. The simulated middle C of a grand piano echoed around the cavernous space. Curious how it would respond, she hit the same key slightly harder. A louder, more sustained note was projected from the amplifier. _Nice… it's touch-sensitive._ Rinoa paused for a second, thinking about what to play. Remembering how long it had been since she'd attempted anything on the piano, she thought it best to play safe and choose a piece she knew inside out. _Let's see how much of this I can remember._

She took a deep breath and her fingers landed on the keys of the opening notes. A soft, wistful melody began to echo around the basement. Her recollection of the piece was intertwined with a bitter mixture of anger, regret and sorrow at the manner in which she'd been forced to learn it. Two bars in, her mind had wandered back to her mother's piano and the dour, stone-faced tutor sat by her side, glowering at her whenever she made a mistake. Her throat tightened as she wrestled with the unwanted memories and tried to stop the piece running away from her. When one of her knees came close to buckling beneath her, she was released from the grip of the past and jolted back to the present. Although she could still feel lingering clumsiness and lethargy in her hands from the best part of a year without playing, the muscle memory was starting to come back to Rinoa. Her fingers began to glide over the keys with an effortless, delicate precision. Half way through now, she was playing the bittersweet, melancholic piece with a deft grace.

Gathered around the mixing desk, the group's attention was completely captivated. Rinoa's admission the day before that she'd had many years of lessons inevitably set the group's expectations fairly high, but she was surpassing them nonetheless. Knowing the instrument herself, Selphie was blown away by the level of ability being demonstrated. She turned around to face the rest of the group; "She's amazing!" Instructor White nodded in agreement; "Great technique… wonderful touch… that must have taken years to master." Selphie span back around to watch Rinoa's performance, but her expression changed slightly as a defeatist thought cross her mind; _I guess Rinoa's got the keyboard slot._

As the piece came to an end, the final lingering note was drowned out by applause from around the mixing desk. Instructor White called out to her; "That was wonderful Rinoa. Could we hear you with the guitar?" Rinoa walked across the basement floor and picked up the black guitar next to the middle microphone. She lifted the strap over her head and flicked her hair clear of it, not wanting to get tangled up. With the instrument settled in place, she removed the plectrum from between the strings and strummed a couple of times to confirm that everything was plugged in and switched on.

Settling on a steady rhythm, she ran through a sequence of simple barre chords. First an A, then a D, then an E, with each one ringing out clear and clean across the cavernous basement. She went around the loop a few times before throwing in a B minor. Compared to the piano, this didn't come anything like as easily. After a minute or so Rinoa's left hand, already stretched and strained from its outing on the keyboard, began to cramp up in protest at the unfamiliar shapes it was being asked to form. Ten seconds later she had to admit defeat; _Owwww… gotta stop._ She leaned into the microphone and asked; "Do you need me to keep going? My hand's kinda given up!"

Instructor White called across the basement; "No, that's great Rinoa. Come take a seat." Another round of applause filled the basement as Rinoa put the guitar down. She shook the pain out of her left hand as she walked back and rejoined the group. Taking the empty seat between Squall and Quistis, she let out a sigh of relief that her turn in the spotlight was over. Keen to share her appreciation for what she'd just heard, Quistis leaned over towards Rinoa and asked; "That piece on the piano was incredible. What was it?" Rinoa exhaled through her nose; "Urquhart's Fantasia." Quistis shuffled on her chair and crossed her legs; "You played it beautifully." Rinoa's feet dangled in mid-air in front of her. She didn't really know how to feel or what to say in response. She stared blankly at her feet as Squall's arm reached around her waist and squeezed her softly. After a long pause she eventually replied; "Thank you."

Instructor White finished scrawling a few notes on a pad in front of her. She looked to her left where Squall, Rinoa and Quistis were sat; "Squall, you're up." After a quick peck on Rinoa's cheek, he got up from his seat and walked to the spot at the far end of the basement where his red guitar was waiting. He picked it up and slung the strap casually over his head, then stooped down to switch on the amplifier. A couple of open E chords confirmed that he was more or less in tune. Without really thinking, he began to play the main riff from one of his favourite songs. Squall frowned as he analysed what he was hearing; _It's lacking something._ He stopped playing for a second and knelt down next to the amplifier to adjust it. He increased the gain whilst plucking a couple of open strings until it produced an aggressive, overdriven sound. _That's more like it_. Still kneeling down, he bashed out a sequence of power chords, at a faster tempo this time, checking how the amplifier responded to playing harder. Much happier with the sound now, he got back to his feet.

Squall paused and looked over at his friends behind the mixing desk. Based on the little they'd heard so far, a sense of anticipation was beginning to build among the group. Remembering the promise he made to Rinoa the night before, he took a deep breath. _Okay…_ he thought _…gotta show 'em what I can do._ Now he had things set up to his liking with plenty of overdrive, he went back to the riff he'd started with a few moments ago. This time a thick, raucous sound filled the basement, delivering the song's hook with authority and power. Once the mood of the melody had taken hold and the muscles in Squall's forearm had warmed up a little, he decided it was probably time to bring in some fancier stuff. He broke away from the main riff briefly, augmenting it with a couple of minor-scale blues licks before jumping back into it. As the end of the four-bar section drew nearer, he thought; _Fuck it… just go for it._ Squall's left hand slid up the neck and hit a big double bend, letting it ring out with a howl. An increasingly quick succession of bluesy lead notes followed fast behind. The mesmerising sound of a screaming, wailing guitar bounced off the basement walls, echoing around the cavernous space.

Behind the mixing desk, Selphie was open-mouthed at what she was hearing. She gushed with excitement in Rinoa's direction; "Rin, he sounds fucking AWESOME! He's exactly what we wanted for the The Red Firs but couldn't find!" Rinoa leaned across to Selphie with a smile and admitted; "I asked him to play for me last night… so… I had _some_ idea of what he can do, but… plugged in at high volume like this… yeah… it's pretty special." Irvine looked over in Rinoa's direction as Squall played a series of complex, descending notes; "You can say that again." _Damn… if I could play like that I'd be shouting about it from the rooftops…_

Squall's solo run ended with another big bend way up towards the top of the guitar's register. The crescendo came crashing down as he slid his fingers down the neck and fell back into the pattern of the main riff. As he cycled around it, he thought; _I've probably made my point._ Squall stopped playing, leaned towards the microphone in front of him and asked; "Is that enough?" Instructor White chuckled slightly as she replied; "Yeah, I think we get the idea Squall." As he switched off the amplifier and rested the guitar against it, another enthusiastic round of applause filled the basement.

As Squall sat back down, Instructor White pointed at Irvine and Zell; "Okay, you two… there's no point in sending you up to try and give us a crazy virtuoso recital after an hour's practice. What really interests me is whether or not you can both play together as a pair, no matter how simple the material is. Zell can you get behind the kit and give us a steady rhythm?" Zell got up off the box he'd been sitting on and mashed his fist into his palm, psyching himself up; "Yeah, let's DO THIS THING!." Instructor White's attention turned back towards Irvine. "…and Irvine… once you've got a handle on what Zell's playing, try and fit something around it." Irvine replied with a simple; "Yes ma'am" before wandering over to the bass. He lifted it over his head and reached into his pocket for the triangular plastic pick Selphie had given him about half an hour beforehand. She'd tried to talk Irvine through the walking fingers technique, but it was too much of a stretch. He'd always used something to strike the string when playing the diddley-bow, usually a coin or a cut-up piece of plastic. Trying to adapt to using his fingers was a step too far, considering everything else he had to remember.

Zell plonked himself on the stool, gripped the sticks and concentrated on reproducing a beat he'd managed to lock down earlier under the Instructor's watchful eye. He began with the simple bass drum and snare combo, then after a couple of bars he added the hi hat. Irvine began tapping his foot in time to the beat, trying to get a feel for it. At the beginning of the next bar, he came in with a deep, booming G# note. Irvine decided to try and follow a 12-bar-blues pattern, plucking the simple root notes and letting them ring out. Instructor White turned back to the group and asked; "You guys reckon you could play to that?" Rinoa and Selphie both nodded. Squall inhaled deeply before answering; "Yeah… probably." Selphie looked at Instructor White and voiced her opinion; "They sound pretty good considering they've only had an hour's practice." She smiled back in Selphie's direction; "Fortunately for you guys, they both seem to be quick learners."

As they listened to Zell and Irvine play, Squall was reminded of something. He racked his brain, trying to pinpoint what it was. _That's it._ Squall looked at Instructor White and asked; "You heard of The Gesper Paradox?" She was a little surprised by the question; "Wow… that's a band I haven't thought about since I was a teenager." Squall looked over at Zell and Irvine again before asking his follow-up question; "Does that sound like _Taste The Honey_ to you?" She put her hand on her hip and considered the similarity; "Yeah I see what you mean. Well spotted." Zell attempted a primitive roll across the toms to bring the performance to an end. Thankfully Irvine picked up Zell's intent and they both stopped playing at roughly the same time, receiving a loud round of applause from their friends for their combined efforts. As they took their seats, Instructor White congratulated the pair; "Well done guys, that went a lot better than I was expecting it to."

 _Only one left…_ "And finally, Selphie… could you start with the keyboard please?" She walked over to the keyboard and played a chord. The standard grand piano sound that Rinoa had used previously bounced off the walls of the basement. It was a nice keyboard and the emulation was a good one, but Selphie couldn't help thinking; _Nah… way too fancy-schmancy._ She leaned toward the microphone next to her and said; "I'm gonna try and find a sound I like." She cycled through the keyboards different voices, hoping to hit on something good. The sounds of a string section, a harpsichord, a flute, then something that sounded like a car alarm echoed around the basement. Selphie's next choice proved more useful; an emulation of an early electronic organ. _Now we're talking…_ She leaned down to the amplifier by her feet and looked over the top panel. _Cool… it's an old guitar amp._ She found the gain knob, held down another chord and slowly increased it until the sound began to break up and compress at about two thirds of its turn. Standing upright again, Selphie scrunched her lips together in satisfaction at the loud, growling, overdriven sound she'd managed to coax out of the equipment in front of her. _Yeah! That sounds MEGA!_

With her left hand she played a series of shifting minor chords, while her right hand led a dance over the higher keys, throwing in melodic lines and random ideas as they occurred to her. With the amplifier working hard, Selphie managed to saturate the cavernous void of the basement with sound. For sheer volume, only Zell offered any serious competition. Half-shouting to be heard over the keyboard, Instructor White turned to around to the group behind her; "She can definitely play a bit, I'm impressed actually." Squall didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement as he crossed his arms. Instructor White cupped her hands beside her mouth and yelled in Selphie's direction, hoping she'd be heard; "SELPHIE!" She looked up but carried on playing. Instructor White yelled "GUITAR?!" as she made a sort of strumming gesture in the air with her arms. Realising what she meant, Selphie lifted her fingers off the keyboard and the cacophonous noise gradually reverberated down to nothing. It took a fraction of a second for everyone to adjust, but once they had, Selphie's efforts received a well-earned round of applause.

She walked over to the black guitar in the middle of the floor and picked it up. Rather than stick to the settings Rinoa had used, she took a leaf out of Squall's book and leant down to increase the amplifier's gain. A quick succession of brash, loud power chords filled the basement with noise once again. Instructor White turned to the group over her shoulder; "She's versatile, no doubt about that." A few of her friends thought they vaguely recognised the melody Selphie bashed out with gusto as a sort of punk type song, but no one could identify it by name. She varied the strumming pattern several times before drawing her performance to a close. Once again, she received a vigorous round of applause as she walked back to the group and took her seat on an upturned box.

Instructor White finished scribbling something on the pad in front of her and let her pen drop flat onto the table. She turned round in her chair to face them; "Well done everyone for getting through that in one piece. It was really helpful for me to see what you can do and hear what each of you sounds like. And… hopefully… you all learned a little bit about each other as well." From a seat to Instructor White's left, Quistis answered that while wiggling a finger in her ear; "I learned Selphie's trying to make us all deaf." They chuckled and Instructor White asked; "Everyone's ears still ringing?" Squall and Irvine nodded, while Rinoa tried to keep the joke rolling; "What?!" Instructor White smiled; "Superb. Let's take a break."


	10. What Happens In The Basement (Part 2)

Squall leant against the wall of the elevator and exhaled hard. The sinking feeling in his stomach wasn't caused by the rapid descent back down to the basement - a glass of water and 20 minutes of fresh air in the quad couldn't take his mind off the imminent notion of having to croon like an imbecile in front of his friends. He looked up briefly at Rinoa and Zell who were sharing the elevator ride with him. They were mute with apprehension. Rinoa's fingers nervously adjusted the black ribbon she wore around her left arm, while Zell had his eyes shut and his head leant back against the opposite wall. From the exaggerated rise and fall of his ribcage, it looked to Squall as though he was trying to stay calm by taking deep breaths. _Damn… leave some oxygen for the rest of us._ Squall shuffled his feet. On second thought, asphyxiation might be preferable to dying of embarrassment. _At least I'm not the only one who's nervous._

The elevator came to a halt and the doors slid open with a soft ping. Rinoa stepped out first, followed by Squall and Zell. Descending the steps, they could see that Irvine and Selphie had already returned to the basement ahead of them. They stood with Instructor White and Quistis, a few feet behind the mixing desk, seemingly no less anxious than the rest of them. Footsteps echoed around the basement as Rinoa, Zell and Squall walked over. With the group fully assembled once again, Instructor White looked at the faces around her. There was a lot of shuffling feet and a distinct avoidance of eye contact. Squall and Zell in particular looked as though they'd rather be absolutely anywhere else. To say the group seemed nervous would be a considerable understatement.

Instructor White tried to adopt an authoritative and reassuring tone as explained how she wanted to address the question of vocals; "Okay ladies and gentlemen, the time has come. A rock 'n' roll band cannot be mute if it wants to be taken seriously. At least one of you… ideally more than one of you… is going to have to sing. So the job I have right now is to work out whether any of you can hold a tune well enough to be granted the use of a microphone." She put one hand on her hip and gestured towards some chairs scattered about the place with the other; "Everyone take a seat and I'll tell you how this is going to work."

There were two swivel chairs behind the mixing desk. Instructor White took the right hand one, and before Quistis had the chance to sit down she pointed to the other and said; "Quistis, could you sit here and take charge of the CD player?" Quistis was a little surprised to be given something to do, but took the seat as directed and examined the equipment in front of her. Zell, Selphie and Rinoa grabbed a chair each, while Squall sat on an upturned packing crate and Irvine leant against the back wall. Instructor White reached down into a box under the table and began searching for something. A few seconds later, she pulled out a CD and a brown folder. "I've got a disc of backing tracks here. I want you all to pick one, ideally something you know, and try to sing along to it. We'll play the track through the PA and…" She pointed to the mic stand nearest the desk, about eight feet away. " …you'll need to sing into _that_ mic. Everyone clear?" Selphie looked up from her boots and asked; "So… it's like karaoke… but… without a karaoke machine?" Instructor White nodded with conviction; "Exactly. Have any of you tried karaoke before?"

All except Quistis shook their heads. She reluctantly explained; "I've tried it. I'm told I sound like a cat trapped in a cement mixer. That's why I'm sitting this out and not inflicting it on you today." Zell looked at Quistis, alarmed at the bleak assessment she gave of her own abilities; "Man, that's harsh! Who told you that?" Quistis turned in her seat to face Zell; "Xu. There was a karaoke night down at the Bearded Mermaid about six months ago. After seven or eight shots we both thought it would be a brilliant idea to put our names down. Xu just about managed to hold her own, but I think I cleared the place out. I haven't had the nerve to set foot in there since. Just be thankful she endured it so you don't have to." Instructor White smirked in Quistis' direction. She pictured an empty bar strewn with abandoned pint glasses and an intoxicated Quistis screeching horribly into a microphone; "I was just about to ask whether you wanted to take a turn at this… but I guess the answer is no." Quistis nodded in response; "Trust me, you _don't_ want to hear it."

Instructor White turned back towards Selphie; "Selphie, you never sang in your old band?" She shook her head; "We had a singer. I stuck to playing my instrument." Instructor White nodded in understanding; "Alright. As you're all going into it cold, there's a couple of pointers that might help. Firstly, don't stop. Just keep going as best you can. If you make a mistake, forget about it and carry on. Try and make it to the end of the song. Secondly, try and sing as loudly as you can _comfortably_ sustain. There's no point whispering into the mic, but there's also no point shredding your vocal cords and not being able to speak for the next three days." The group shuffled and a few nodded their heads. "So then… in reverse order from last time… Selphie, could I hear you first please?"

Selphie's stomach turned a somersault. Rinoa sensed her friend tense up as her anxiety level spiked. She leaned over and sought to reassure her; "Hey, you've got this. It's like Squall said yesterday… we've all heard you sing already and you've got nothing to be embarrassed about." Selphie looked at her friend with a smile and a sense of relief. _She always knows how to make me feel better._ Instructor White handed Selphie the CD case; "Have a look and see if anything grabs you." She perused the track listing, looking for something she recognised. Her finger stopped at one track in particular. " _Lay It On The Line_ , please." It was a fairly well-known pop song.

Selphie handed the CD to Quistis while Instructor White flicked through the papers in the folder then handed Selphie the lyrics sheet for her chosen track. She strided over to the mic stand, determined to give it her best shot. Quistis loaded the CD into the player, and skipped ahead to track seven. She looked up at Selphie; "Let me know when you're ready." Selphie took two deep breaths and gripped the microphone with her right hand; "Let's do it." Quistis pressed play as Selphie scanned the lyrics sheet to read the first line of the song. It had a short intro, no more than a couple of bars, and Selphie was quickly into the first verse.

"𝄞 _Oh baby I know you've been_ 𝄞 _Lookin' over your shoulder…_ 𝄞"

A quick adjustment on the desk raised Selphie's vocal level to match that of the backing track. Her friends had some idea what to expect, having been within earshot countless times when she involuntarily let slip a tune - it was unavoidable if they were travelling by train - but to hear her sing with purpose, amplified through the PA and echoing around the cavernous basement… It was unmistakably still _her_ … but much, much moreso. As Selphie finished the first verse, Instructor White leaned over to Quistis and shared her initial reaction. "She's set the standard quite high here. She's hitting the notes and she's got that slight Trabian lilt. That's nice… memorable." A few more seconds passed and Selphie continued into the second verse.

"𝄞 _The things that I see_ 𝄞 _Yeah, they start to make me wonder…_ 𝄞"

Instructor White closed her eyes for a second and concentrated on analysing what she was hearing. _She's naturally quite high pitched… and 'bang', straight on the note…_ She opened her eyes again and leaned over towards Quistis in the chair beside her; "She can hold a tune, no doubt about that… but…" Instructor White contorted her face slightly at the criticism she was about to make; "…she sounds quite… girly." Quistis crossed her arms and shot back; "She's a girl. What the hell did you expect her to sound like? A chain-smoking forty year old man?" Instructor White struck an apologetic expression and tried to clarify; "What I mean is… I'm not immediately thinking _rock_." She looked back at Selphie before adding; "That could just be the song she chose though, it's _very_ pop." Rinoa was familiar with the song Selphie had chosen and she knew what was coming up. As the chorus approached, she leaned down between Instructor White and Quistis and said; "Stand by for the high notes." They looked back over toward Selphie to see how she'd cope with the challenge. Selphie glanced down at the lyrics sheet and took a deep breath. _Here goes…_

"𝄞 _Lay it on the line_ 𝄞 _You gotta lay it on the line_ 𝄞 _Are you messin' me around…_ 𝄞"

She concentrated on holding the difficult high note as long as she could, then let loose for the descending melody of the songs chorus. Instructor White was impressed; "She hit that, no problem. That's way up at the top of the soprano register." Rinoa smiled; "I knew she'd be good at this." Instructor White nodded in agreement; "Her voice doesn't distort or crack when she pushes hard, if anything she gets clearer and more focused. That's unusual… normally it's the opposite." _That part's tricky…_ Selphie thought to herself. _I hope that sounded alright…_ She looked over at her friends and the Instructor behind the mixing desk. _Okay… they don't have their fingers in their ears…_

Selphie's eyes fixed on Irvine leaning up against the back wall behind the desk. Wearing a big grin, he silently mouthed " _You're doing great_ " towards her, before blowing her a kiss. With that, any remaining jitters she still had were gone. Gaining in confidence now, she pushed on through the third verse, tapping her right foot in time to the beat. By the time the chorus came around again, she was in the zone, giving it a bit more volume than last time. She went round the chorus one more time; and as the backing track faded out, it was replaced by the applause of her friends echoing around the basement. Selphie's cheeks turned slightly red as she walked back from the mic stand and straight into a hug from Irvine. With her face buried in Irvine's chest, she mumbled "Was it OK?" Irvine bowed his head and whispered into Selphie's ear; "Baby, you did wonderful." Irvine released his grip and let his hands settle on Selphie's shoulders while she giggled up at him, half embarrassed, half relieved.

More than happy with Selphie's performance, Instructor White was keen to move things along; "Okay… Zell… you're next." She handed Zell the CD case. He took it and immediately tried to get his excuses in early; "Look guys… I'll give it a shot, but I don't think I can match what Selphie did. Just sayin'… don't get your hopes up or nothin'." Sensing his lack of confidence, Instructor White tried to reassure him; "It's fine Zell… what happens in the basement stays in the basement, remember?" Zell looked down at the case in his hand and scanned the list of tracks. "Alright…" he sighed; "Fourteen."

Instructor White took the CD case back off him and asked; " _Stole Off With My Girl_?" Zell swallowed as he tried to fight down the sense of dread; "Yeah." Instructor White found the lyrics sheet in the folder and handed it to him; "Alright, go get in position." Zell walked over to the mic stand, grabbed the mic off it and cleared his throat. Quistis selected the track on the CD player, then looked across at Zell, anticipating the signal to start. He spoke into the mic; "I'm ready." She pressed play. The track Zell had chosen was a brazen, high-tempo rock song from maybe two decades ago. It kicked in over the PA system with a pounding drum beat.

"𝄞 _Hunt ya down like a dog_ 𝄞 _Ain't no escape this time_ 𝄞 _Ya gonna get what's comin' to ya…_ 𝄞 _"_

The original record had quite a shouty vocal delivery, and despite Zell's best efforts to stay true to that style, it was obvious after the first line that he was flat. Flat as a pancake in fact. Selphie pulled a pained expression while Squall buried his head in his hands; _Gonna have to put a brave face on this one…_

"𝄞 _Nobody gonna steal off with my girl_ 𝄞 _Nobody gonna steal off with my giiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrrl…_ 𝄞 _"_

When the pitch of the song changed for the chorus, Zell's attempt to follow it got screechy. A couple of notes he wretched out were like the proverbial nails down a chalkboard. Remembering the advice he'd received shortly beforehand, Zell didn't give up. He strained to hit note after note. Instructor White leaned back towards the others and offered some solace; "I thought you might like to know… this song is only two minutes eight seconds long." After what felt more like twenty minutes, the track did eventually come to an end. His friends generously applauded Zell's attempt all the same while he trudged back to the group feeling completely deflated. He felt compelled to apologise for what he'd just subjected them to; "Sorry guys… I know that wasn't great."

Irvine slapped him on the back and tried to offer some consolation; "Don't worry about it, you got the drums covered… that's more important." He slumped down on an upturned box next to Quistis, thoroughly unimpressed with his own efforts. She leaned over and tried to cheer him up; "That was still better than me." Zell brushed Quistis remark off dismissively. He knew she was just trying to make him feel better. Head in his hands, he retorted; "I don't think it's possible to sound any worse than I did just then." Quistis adopted a serious tone in response; "Oh, it's entirely possible, I can assure you. You might have been out of tune but at least you didn't sound like a dying animal. If I attempted that, you would have all fled in panic." Zell looked up. He couldn't help but laugh a little at that. _Is she really THAT bad?_

Instructor White swiveled around in her chair, ready for the next vocal candidate to take centre stage; "Irvine, you're up." He slowly let out a breath through his nose and got to his feet; "Sure." He took the CD case and read through the track list. Almost immediately he settled on a song he knew pretty well; "Number five… _Crossroad Gambler_." It was a classic, a cautionary tale of a wandering vagrant who strikes a deal with the devil, giving him the ability to cheat at cards without getting caught. With lyrics sheet in hand, the hard thud of his boots reverberated around the basement. He stooped down towards the microphone and asked; "How do I change the height?" Instructor White pointed at the stand; "Release the clamp on the side there and it should slide up and down."

Irvine loosened the screw of the clamp and raised it up to account for his 6'1 frame before tightening it again. Quistis looked up; "Ready?". He filled his lungs and hesitantly replied; "Yeah." She pressed play and the track kicked in over the PA system. A couple of seconds in, the main melody rang out and most of the group recognised Irvine's choice of song. Rinoa instinctively blurted out; "I haven't heard this in ages!" Selphie looked at her, equally excited; "It's the one that goes like… _crossroad gambler… something something cross the line…_ It's that one, right?" Rinoa nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, that's the one! It's a good song." Four bars in, the first verse began, and Irvine concentrated on trying to hit the right pitch.

"𝄞 _Drifter, down on a losing streak but_ 𝄞 _You got one last trick to fool 'em all…_ 𝄞"

Quistis reached across to the mixer desk and increased the volume of Irvine's microphone; "He's quieter than I thought he'd be." Instructor White nodded in agreement; "Yeah… you'd think big guy, big voice… but he's closer to talking volume." She scribbled a few notes on a sheet in front of her, while Quistis admitted; "I actually like his voice. It's kind of soothing." Irvine had to correct himself a couple of times, but he succeeded in hitting most of the notes he attempted. He ploughed on and attempted to tackle the song's chorus.

"𝄞 _Ohhh, crossroad gambler_ 𝄞 _Take your money 'cross the line_ 𝄞 _Dontcha give a second thought_ 𝄞 ' _Bout the girl you left behind…_ 𝄞"

Instructor White raised her eyebrows in surprise when Irvine briefly jumped into a falsetto register to hit a couple of high notes, then dropped back down again, seemingly without any effort at all. She rested her chin on her hand, weighing up the dilemma she faced; "It _is_ a nice voice… I'm just not sure you'd be able to hear him properly over a rock band." There was another factor to consider; "He's already got to deal with learning the bass. I'm not sure we can ask him to sing as well. That might be a stretch too far." Quistis nodded in understanding. While Irvine sang, Rinoa looked at Selphie standing to her right. Her friend's attention was fixed on Irvine, and while his performance was nothing to be ashamed of, there was a subtle look on Selphie's face which Rinoa immediately recognised. Irvine could be singing through the options on the local takeaway menu for all Selphie cared.

Rinoa leaned close and whispered deviously in her friend's ear; "As soon as we're done here, you've got to tell me _everything_ that happened last night." Selphie's concentration was broken and her expression changed to one of embarrassment. She bit her lip and looked down at her boots, her cheeks turning slightly red. _God, Rin, can't you guess?_ Irvine worked his way through the remainder of the track, gently crooning through another verse and chorus before it finally faded out. The group put their hands together in appreciation of his efforts and he walked back over to them with a sense of relief that he hadn't made a complete ass of himself.

"Alright… squad leader… you're next." Instructor White handed Squall the CD case. He frowned as he looked down the track listing. There were quite a few he didn't know and several he knew but didn't like. Reaching the very end of the list, he spotted something he knew _and_ liked; "Twenty-two." Instructor White flicked to the back of the folder and found the lyrics sheet. Glancing at the title before handing it to him, she smiled; "A fine choice." He gave the CD case back to her and began walking over to the mic stand. Quistis leaned across and asked; "Did he say twenty-two?" Instructor White nodded and she skipped forward to the track Squall had chosen, then waited for the signal to start.

Squall lowered the mic stand down a couple of inches, then re-fastened the clamp. He looked back towards Quistis and nodded. The backing track kicked in with it's dominant guitar riff and wailing harmonica line. Looks of partial recognition slowly spread across a few faces in the group. Squall had chosen a raucous old blues standard; _Midnight Train_. Instructor White was familiar with it, but the rest of the group only knew it as a distant, long-lost memory rather than something they could consciously identify. Behind the mixing desk, Selphie's boot began tapping involuntarily in time with the rhythm. She had to admit; "He's picked a _great_ song." The cue to begin singing wasn't as obvious in this track as any of the previous tracks they'd heard, so Squall really had to listen for it. He concentrated intently as the point in the song drew closer, he took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the exact moment. _And… go._

"𝄞 _She's on the midnight train_ 𝄞 _She's on the midnight train_ 𝄞 _She left me standin' here and now I gotta know if all my love's in vain…_ 𝄞"

An emotive, gritty howl echoed around the basement and Rinoa's breath hitched at the sound. The timbre of Squall's voice took her straight back to the moment he'd screamed out her name in desperation across Ellone's empathic connection. Instructor White reached over to the mixer desk and reduced Squall's vocal level, explaining to a surprised Quistis; "It's still set for Irvine." Quistis looked back wide-eyed at Instructor White and tried to convey her sense of shock at Squall's voice; "I don't know what I was expecting… but… it definitely wasn't this." Instructor White smiled back; "Oh he's hitting all the right notes, no question." She span round to face Rinoa; "Surprised?" Blinking in disbelief, Rinoa struggled to form a response; "Uhhhh… Yeah! Very!" After a short pause, she added; "With his deep speaking voice, I thought he'd be all moody and serious, but he can get a lot higher than I thought he'd be able to." Instructor White offered an explanation; "It's pretty common for the singing voice to have a higher range than the speaking voice."

"𝄞 _Y'know she done me wrong_ 𝄞 _Yeah she done me wrong_ 𝄞 _My baby caught the train and now I just don't know where my mind has gone…_ 𝄞"

This old blues number didn't really have a verse-chorus structure; just a series of three or four different verses that went round and round. What it lacked in structure, it made up for with a wide range of notes; some loud and brazen, others soft and tender. Squall thought about the version of this track he was familiar with, bringing to mind which lines were sung loud, and which more quietly. He did his best to mimic the style, giving it more power in some places and holding back elsewhere to generate a softer, captivating sound with a slight vibrato. Instructor White leaned over to Quistis; "Hear the difference compared to Selphie when he pushes hard? The voice breaks up a little, gets grittier." Glancing in Squall's direction, Selphie cupped her right elbow in her left hand; "There's something about his voice that's giving me chills." Instructor White replied; "I think I know what you mean. You can hear the hurt. It carries a lot of feeling."

Rinoa listened to the chatter but remained silent, wondering instead whether they'd stumbled across an unexpected window into all those pent up emotions she knew ran deep beneath Squall's stoic facade. Instructor White turned back around in her chair to take in the final few bars of his performance. The track came to an abrupt end and Squall realised he hadn't once looked over to his friends behind the mixing desk. He'd either been reading the lyrics sheet, concentrating on the mic in front of him or had his eyes shut while he focused on the backing track. He looked up from the piece of paper in his hand and saw the group break into a fairly loud round of applause. Selphie even threw in a "WOO-HOO!" for good measure. He began walking back toward the group, lyrics sheet fluttering limply at his side.

Instructor White held the CD case out toward Rinoa; "Ready to bring the karaoke party to a close?" She looked nervous, but gently took the case and started reading the track listing. If Irvine hadn't already picked it, she would have been tempted to go with track five. She liked that song a lot. Her finger continued trailing the small print until it stopped a few lines further down. The title was familiar, in fact Rinoa was pretty sure she had the album this track came from buried somewhere in her bedroom back in Deling City. She tried to bring the track to mind; _I think I remember how this one goes…_ She quietly hummed the melody of the chorus to herself; _Yeah… Let's do it._ She looked up at Instructor White; "Eleven please."

Quistis began skipping to Rinoa's chosen track as Rinoa handed the CD case back to Instructor White. Flicking through the folder, Instructor White found the accompanying lyrics sheet for Rinoa's choice; _Give Me A Sign._ It was an out-and-out rock song by a Galbadian group, _The Skipsurfers_. With the lyrics sheet in her right hand, Rinoa walked over to the mic stand. She took several deep breaths to try and fight down the anxiety and lower her heart rate. A few seconds later, she nodded towards Quistis, indicating she was ready to start. As the melody kicked in over a pounding bass drum, Rinoa filled her lungs, gripped the mic hard and wretched out the opening high note with as much power as she could muster.

"𝄞 _Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!_ 𝄞"

Her richly-textured voice filled the cavernous space from floor to ceiling. Selphie lifted her hands to her mouth in astonishment and whispered; "Oh my god." Instructor White sat upright in her chair and let slip; "Ooooo… I think we might have a winner here." As the song's verse kicked in, the promise of that dramatic first note was fulfilled in full.

"𝄞 _I can't wait any more_ 𝄞 _For you to be mine_ 𝄞 _Every second apart…_ 𝄞"

Her voice moulded itself around the song's melody, with some notes and phrases carrying a chocolatey richness while others punched through with a powerful clarity. Rinoa jumped effortlessly from gritty low notes into falsetto highs and back again. She held long notes with ease, accentuating some with a strong vibrato that she seemed to be able to call upon at will. Selphie leaned down towards Quistis and asked; "Can you believe this?!" An exasperated Quistis could only pout as she replied; "No! First the piano… and now she sounds like _that_?!" She exhaled hard through her nostrils and crossed her arms, glowering in Rinoa's direction. Quistis had to admit, she was more than a little jealous right now; "She's just _sickeningly_ talented. I swear, I'd hate her if she wasn't so fucking nice." Selphie was a little surprised at the strength of Quistis response; _Yikes! You sure this is just about music stuff Quisty?_

Ever since Quistis admitted she'd harboured feelings for Squall in Trabia Garden's ruined basketball court, Quistis and Rinoa could sometimes be prickly with each other. They'd been getting along well recently though; which left Selphie wondering if they'd finally had that difficult conversation to clear the air between them. Either way, this wasn't the time to revisit that thorny topic. Instead, Selphie tried to bring it back to Rinoa's performance; "I was thinking maybe she'd sound like her mom, but she sounds totally different." Instructor White turned around with a confused look on her face; "Wait… Is her mother a singer or something?" Quistis nodded in confirmation; "Julia Heartilly." Instructor White's eyebrows raised in surprise; "Okay… wow. How does a famous singer's daughter wind up becoming a resistance fighter?" Quistis had the answer for that one too; "Principles." Instructor White looked back in Rinoa's direction; "Now you've pointed it out, she does look like her. Selphie's right though…" Instructor White gestured towards Rinoa with her hand; "…she doesn't sound like her. She's got a _much_ more powerful voice." As if to underline the point, Rinoa launched into the song's chorus with gusto.

"𝄞 _I'm going out of my mind_ 𝄞 _Every night I'm alone_ 𝄞 _Oh baby give me a sign…_ 𝄞"

Leaning against the back wall next to Irvine, Squall's steely exterior gave no indication of the torrent of emotions that raged inside. When Rinoa's lips parted to unleash that opening note, the last stronghold of scepticism he'd been desperately clinging to crumbled away into nothing. It was pointless to try and deny it any longer; despite all the doubts and the natural aversion Squall had towards this cover story, it was happening. And yet… _that voice_. The slight huskiness of Rinoa's speaking voice, something Squall found absolutely adorable, became more pronounced when she sang. Squall didn't know the track Rinoa had chosen, but after this, he'd never forget it. Irvine nudged Squall in the side and muttered what he already knew; "Dude, she sounds _incredible_." Squall turned briefly to look at Irvine with a hint of a smile on his face, before his attention switched back to Rinoa; "Yeah, she does."

* * *

With everyone assembled around her, Instructor White looked at her watch. _12:15._ "Alright, you guys should go and get some lunch. I need a little time to think about what I've heard this morning and then let you know what my recommendation is." Zell scuffed his foot across the floor and asked; "When d'ya want us all back down here?" She took a deep breath; "Let's say… 13:30." Partly driven by an increasing sense of hunger, Squall was keen to get back to the upper levels; "Alright, 13:30 it is. Come on, let's go." The group turned towards the elevator, but after a few steps Quistis stopped and turned around; "You'll need lunch too, won't you?" Instructor White mentally kicked herself for forgetting to bring something to eat from home. There were at least three meals in her refrigerator, neatly stacked in plastic clip boxes. She could only attribute her forgetfulness to the departure from her usual routine. Today was only the second or third time she'd come in on a Saturday since she'd started teaching at Balamb Garden.

She looked up Quistis, feeling a pang of hunger at the thought of food; "Yeah… could you bring me a sandwich from the cafeteria?" Quistis replied; "Can do. Are you staying down here?" She nodded back in Quistis direction; "Yes. I need to go through the notes I've made… move things around…" The cafeteria operated a skeleton crew on weekends, but they'd be able to provide a sandwich. Wondering what they might have available, Quistis asked; "Any preference?" Instructor White smiled, appreciating the thoughtfulness; "Chicken mayo if they've got it, otherwise anything else will be fine. Thank you." Quistis turned on her heels and caught up with the others, following them into the waiting elevator.

* * *

Clutching a paper-wrapped sandwich in one hand, Quistis spotted Xu walking towards the central ring from the infirmary. She stopped and waited as her friend approached; "Hey." Xu smiled; "Hey." They began walking and Xu asked; "How's the prep for the Timber mission going?" Reaching the bottom of the steps to the elevator shaft, Quistis pulled an exasperated expression; "Let's just say it's been a really weird morning. Squall says he's got the wider strategy worked out in his head, so I'm not really worried about the operational side of it. I know he's been thinking about this mission since we got back to Balamb." They stepped into the waiting elevator as Quistis continued; "We just need final confirmation on the cover before we can start." Xu pushed the button for the 3rd floor; "What's the cover for this one?" Quistis pressed the button for the basement and the elevator doors slid shut; "A band. I can't play anything but some of the others can." The elevator began its ascent and a horrible possibility dawned on Xu. She looked at Quistis solemnly; "You're not singing, are you?" She frowned back; "No, I'm not." Xu looked visibly relieved as she leant back against the side of the elevator. The hazy flashback of a drunken karaoke night faded away, but her interest was piqued. She tilted her head and asked; "So who is then?"

The paper around Instructor White's sandwich rustled as Quistis shifted it back and forth from one hand to the other; "Based on what I just heard, it'll be Rinoa. I tell you Xu… that girl's got a set of pipes on her like you wouldn't believe." A few seconds passed, filled only by the whirr of the elevator until Xu asked; "Is it wise to have a sorceress out front and centre… literally _in the spotlight_?" Quistis hadn't thought of it like that. _Could that be a problem?_ Sensing that Quistis had retreated into deep thought, Xu tried to help her out; "Could any of the others sing instead?" Quistis looked up; "Actually, yeah. Selphie and… _Squall_ , of all people. Irvine didn't do badly…." Xu cut her off abruptly; "Whoa whoa whoa… hold up… you're telling me commander grumpy-bollocks can actually _sing_?" Quistis folded her arms; "Yeah… but… I wouldn't call him that to his face Xu." The idea was preposterous; "What, like really sing?" Quistis' brow raised in an effort to appear sincere; "Yeah… Honestly Xu, he's not bad." The elevator doors slid open and Xu stepped out into the refreshing cool of the third floor atrium. As the doors began to close again she turned back towards Quistis with one hand on her hip and a disbelieving expression on her face; "I think I'll have to hear it before I believe it QT."


	11. The Verdict

The tub of chicken mayo had been returned to its usual place behind the counter and the Cafeteria Lady's knives had been wiped clean, ready to serve the next customer. Recognising Zell, she glanced over his shoulder to confirm that, except Quistis, the rest of the gang were waiting behind him. Seeing the commander's cadres together like this on a weekend was unusual and curiosity got the better of her. In a chatty tone, the Cafeteria Lady asked; "Don't normally see you guys around on a Saturday lunchtime, what have you been up to this morning?" Unsure how much he could divulge, Zell's mouth began to run ahead of his brain; "Ahhh… errr… we've been…"

From the back of the queue, he heard Squall try and catch his attention by curtly growling his name under his breath. Zell looked over his shoulder to see Squall making a zipping motion across his mouth. He looked back at the Cafeteria Lady and tried to deflect the query with a shrug and a smile; "I…err… don't think we're allowed to talk about it." She nodded slowly; "Need-to-know basis. I understand." The Cafeteria Lady was talkative by nature, but also keenly aware that her employer handled clandestine dirty work; often for shady clients who didn't want to risk soiling their own hands or jeopardise their public image. Over time, the ancillary staff tended to develop a sense of when to stop asking questions. The ones who didn't usually ended up fired. Detecting a sense of urgency from Zell's body language, presumably driven by hunger, the Cafeteria Lady decided it was safer to change the subject; "What can I get you?"

Zell knew what he wanted, but he was almost afraid to ask; "Hot dogs?" The question slipped through a scrunched, anguished expression. It was as if his face intuitively knew that he was about to get slapped down with disappointment. The Cafeteria Lady shrugged; "Sorry Zell, we're fresh out." She did at least manage to convey some sympathy into her reply, as she explained; "We sold the last one yesterday evening and the next delivery doesn't come in until Monday." With slumped shoulders, a deflated Zell looked over the available sandwich fillings and eventually decided on a distant second preference; "Can I get ham 'n' cheese?" She nodded; "You want it grilled?" He threw his head back slightly, almost snorting with derision at the suggestion. _Not all hot pork is created equal._ Shaking his head, he answered; "Nah… just as it comes thanks." A few seconds later the sandwich was sliced, plated and handed over. Zell took the plate with a faint smile and shuffled off to find a table for five.

Negotiating his way across the cafeteria floor, Zell faintly heard the Cafeteria Lady ask Selphie "What'll it be, missy?" above the low burble of lunchtime chatter. Looking around, he spotted a suitable, unoccupied table on the far side of the hall between two decorative ferns. Zell's plate made contact with the top of a table, before he pulled out a chair and slumped himself into it. He was drained. For Zell, the morning had swung wildly between extremes of embarrassment and disappointment, and even though it wasn't a hot dog, this meal was a welcome, albeit temporary, diversion.

Zell had wanted to learn how to play the drums for as long as he could remember, and despite the excitement of finally being able to pursue this long-held ambition, he was acutely aware of his lack of ability - his lowly status as an absolute beginner. Had circumstances been different, the prospect of being a novice wouldn't have irked him quite so much. But with the clock ticking and a mission hanging in the balance, the limitations of his own knowledge and experience felt as constricting as a straight jacket. Reaching down to his plate and lifting the second-choice sandwich to his mouth, a pessimistic thought crossed his mind. _Far as this cover story goes, I'm the weak link in the chain_.

Chewing on his thought, Zell was distracted by Selphie pulling out a chair beside him. Her plate skidded into view next to his and he couldn't help but notice how much more appetising her lunch looked compared to his own. _Balambfish and sweetcorn baguette… damn… that looks real good… why didn't I get that instead?_ She sat down and glanced over at Zell; "Hey." He looked back at Selphie, swallowing before replying in a slightly more sombre tone; "Hey." She pulled a sympathetic smile; "No hot dogs, huh?" He shook his head slightly, conveying his disappointment; "Nope." He took another bite and returned to his thoughts. Reaching an acceptable standard with the drums was a simple matter of practice over time. That much was obvious. That's how he'd become Balamb Garden's leading martial artist; by putting in countless hours in the gym and the training centre. For this mission however, time was a scarce commodity. The situation across the sea became a more precarious with every passing day.

From the corner of his eye, Zell noticed Irvine approaching the table. Irvine pulled out the chair next to Selphie and sat down beside her. By the look of it, Zell wasn't the only one depleted by the morning's challenges. Irvine leaned back in his seat, let out a long sigh, and voiced his thoughts; "I don't mind tellin' ya… I'm glad that part's over." Zell and Selphie both nodded, with Selphie managing to add an affirmative "mmmm…" as she chewed. Reminded again of what had just transpired down in the basement, Zell felt a compulsion to apologise for what he'd subjected his friends to. He put his sandwich back down on his plate and struck a contrite tone; "Look… I… uh… I'm sorry 'bout earlier…" Irvine and Selphie both looked at him blankly. He couldn't bring himself to describe it as 'singing', but after a pause, Zell clarified; "…with the karaoke." Irvine's shoulders raised in a brief chuckle; "It's cool. We'll live."

* * *

As the Cafeteria Lady handed Rinoa a chicken sandwich across the countertop, an urgent voice called out from the other side of the cafeteria; "Commander!" Both Squall and Rinoa turned around to find Xu approaching in a brisk walk from the corridor. Squall rubbed his forehead in exasperation. Xu showing up in a hurry like this usually meant bad news. Squall mentally braced himself as she joined them next to the cafeteria counter. Before she spoke, Xu paused for a moment to try and read the Commander's mood. _Must've been a hard morning, he looks tense_ , she thought. … _and so does Rinoa_. Experience had taught Xu that Squall preferred to hear things spelled out clearly and unvarnished. He had no time for sugar-coating. She began; "I'm sorry Squall but you can't use the basement next week. The maintenance team have reserved it for the overhaul you ordered. You need to clear all your stuff out before they start on Monday morning."

Squall folded his arms and let out a sigh of annoyance, before asking; "Can't they base themselves somewhere else?" Xu shook her head; "The basement is the only access route to the lower levels. They'll need to come through there no matter what." Xu's explanation made perfect sense. It was the only sensible place for the engineers to set themselves up - but that only shifted the problem onto Squall's team. He'd started scouring his memory for alternative spaces they might be able to use, when Rinoa pointed out; "If the cover story doesn't cut it, we'll have to put all the instruments back in storage anyway, won't we?" Squall's shoulders dropped a little as he exhaled; "Yeah, I guess you're right. It's all tentative until we know for sure that we're doing this. We might be handing it all back anyway…"

… _.rrrrrrrrrrr…._ A low rumble from Squall's stomach was an audible reminder of his hunger. _Need something, I can't think properly._ He turned to the Cafeteria Lady waiting patiently behind the counter and chose the first thing that came to mind; "BLT." Squall watched intently as two rashers of bacon were hastily arranged on a slice of white bread. Xu turned to face Rinoa and recounted what she knew of their mission; "This cover story of yours… I just saw Quistis in the elevator. She told me what you're up to and I have to admit… I'm kind of intrigued." She paused for a second before adding; "I can't really picture it though…" Mindful of the verdict that awaited them back down in the basement, Rinoa's fingers nervously reached for the rings on her necklace. Reluctantly she looked at Xu and replied; "I suppose we'll find out soon enough whether Instructor White can picture it… we get her decision after lunch."

Sensing Rinoa's unease, Xu's expression softened a little; "Well…" She reached down into the pocket of her SeeD uniform; "…if your cover story does get the stamp of approval, I've found somewhere else you can practice." Rinoa's eyes widened in surprise; "You have?" With that information, Squall's attention was drawn away from watching his sandwich being prepared. He tilted his head a little as he inquired; "Where?" Xu pulled out what looked like a Garden access card from her pocket; "The maintenance team have a warehouse down in the docklands. It'll be deserted for the next three weeks while they're all up here, overhauling the lower levels… so it's free to use if you need it." Squall and Rinoa looked at each other with a shared sense of relief, as Xu continued; "The chief engineer says there's a few hundred square feet of empty space down there. That should be plenty for what you need."

Rinoa couldn't quite believe their luck; "It sounds perfect!" Taking his sandwich from the Cafeteria Lady, Squall had to admit; "I didn't even know we had a building down there." Xu explained its purpose; "It's mostly for the hydrofoils. It's a lot easier to maintain the fleet if all the spares are stored close to the harbour." She held out the keycard towards Squall; "You'll need this to get in." He took it from her with his free hand as she explained; "The address is on the back." He flipped the keycard over and read the printed facility details;

 _Unit 26, Docklands Industrial Park, Harbour Road, Balamb Town, 20137._

Looking up from the keycard, Squall gave a simple; "Thank you." Xu was buoyed by the Commander's gratitude. She found herself surprised that it meant more than she thought it would. She gave the SeeD salute as she added; "Best of luck with the mission, Commander." Before turning around to leave, Xu had some final words of reassurance for Rinoa; "I hope the decision goes the way you want it to."

* * *

"…in any case, she's gonna say yes… I'm sure of it."

Arriving at the table, Squall and Rinoa caught the end of Irvine's comment. Squall took a seat next to Zell, before shuffling across slightly to give Rinoa space to sit down next to him. Holding a triangle of BLT in his right hand, Squall looked at Irvine and dived right into the conversation; "If she says yes, there's gonna be a ton of work to do. We've got a long way to go before I'd be happy with us playing in front of anyone." There were a few silent nods of agreement as the group chomped down their respective lunches. Squall finally took a bite of the food his body had been craving for the last half-hour, managing to savour it for a few seconds before Selphie piped up; "We saw you talking to Xu just now. Is everything OK?" Squall put his sandwich back on his plate and continued chewing for a moment before answering; "It's nothing major. We have to move all the equipment out of the basement before the overhaul starts on Monday. Either it goes back in the cupboard on the second floor, or…" Squall briefly waved the keycard Xu had given him; "…we move everything to a warehouse down by the docks." Selphie seemed relieved to hear it wasn't anything too serious. She shrugged her shoulders a little; "Okay… at least we've got another place lined up if we need it. That could have been a major bummer."

From the other side of the table, Zell pointed out; "We're gonna have to give all the instruments back at some point anyway, right? They belong to the music department. The students are gonna need them when the summer break's over." Squall exhaled slowly through his nose as he chewed and pondered. With the exception of his own beaten-up red guitar, all the instruments and equipment they'd used that morning had been borrowed. Even the amplifier Squall was plugged into wasn't his own. Between mouthfuls, he replied; "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He knew of one small music store in Balamb Town, tucked away down a backstreet off the main promenade. The local junk shop was another possibility, as they usually had a few pawned instruments stacked up in a corner - the tell-tale sign of aspiring musicians left with empty pockets at the end of a long month.

"I've been thinkin' 'bout something too…" Irvine leaned forward a little as the question slipped out from beneath his cowboy hat; "What are we actually gonna play if she says yes?" Squall jumped on the most obvious answer that came to mind; "Covers." Irvine's felt compelled to seek out more detail; "Yeah… but… what kinda covers…?" Squall held his sandwich in mid-air as he wondered out loud; "Shit… I don't know… Anything that's easy to learn would be a good place to start." As far as Squall was concerned, these were details that could wait until they definitely knew they were doing this. Sitting on Squall's right, Rinoa added; "We all like loads of different bands… so it shouldn't be too hard for us to pick out a few tracks that might work." Selphie's mind was already racing through potential material. She turned to Rinoa and said; "I'd love to cover that song you did earlier."

 _That_ performance had left an impression on everyone, but it wasn't the simplest arrangement ever conceived. Singing it over a backing track was one thing, _playing_ it well was quite another. Rinoa took a deep, slow breath before tentatively answering; "I think that one's pretty complicated. There's a lot happening in that song." Rinoa wore a contrite face as she continued; "We might be getting ahead of ourselves… I mean… we don't actually have an answer yet…" Squall had heard enough. He was keen to minimise any further chit-chat or speculation that might come between him and the remaining half of his sandwich. He tried to bring the discussion to a close; "Look… Rinoa's right. Let's take the mystery out of it… and then we definitely know whether we're doing this or not… and whether we have to worry about any of this or not." He fleetingly looked at each of the group as he gave his final words on the matter; "Finish eating and we'll go find out."

* * *

"…still… he's never been one to talk about it… or…"

Quistis' broke off mid sentence as her ears picked up on the faint sound of the elevator whirring behind her. Standing alongside Instructor White, they both turned around to see the elevator car quickly descended to the bottom of the shaft. With a *ping* the doors opened. Irvine emerged first, having been the last to cram himself in at ground level. He straightened his hat as he descended the three steps, followed by Selphie who took great pleasure in filling her lungs with the cooler air of the basement. Zell, Rinoa and finally Squall emerged from the elevator car and descended the steps to join the rest of them. After taking up a position each was comfortable with, the group formed a loose fan shape around the mixing desk with Instructor White at it's centre. She stood wearing a slight smile, one palm resting casually on the table top.

Lunch had slain everyone's hunger but done nothing to dispel the nervous tension. If anything, the short reprieve had only given them time to reflect and focus their collective anxieties on the moment they now faced. Everyone who'd grown up at one of the Gardens - regardless of whether it was Balamb, Galbadia or Trabia - was familiar with this particular cocktail of nerves and adrenaline. SeeD exam, field trials, controlled condition GF capture or implausible mission cover story - it didn't matter. They all knew this feeling. _Judgement_. And it was imminent. Instructor White took a deep breath and clasped her hands together in front of her. She smiled, trying to lighten the atmosphere; "Welcome back." With the clock ticking and the weight of the mission on his shoulders, Squall was compelled to cut to the chase; "Have you made a decision?" Instructor White's smile curled slightly at one side; _that's just like Squall, straight down to business_. She nodded; "Yes I have… based on what I've seen this morning…" Instructor White paused, taking another deep breath; "…I believe you _can_ pull this off."

A collective exhale ensued, almost as if the Garden itself had heaved a sigh of relief. A slow _pffffffffff_ emitted from between Irvine's pursed lips while Selphie let loose a short, high-pitched yelp of excitement, but Zell was the first to form a response; "You really think we can do it…?!" The instructor looked at Zell. He was almost visibly twitching with nervous excitement. She tried to strike an authoritative but reassuring tone as she answered; "You've got a lot of hard work ahead of you, but… yes." Zell couldn't hide the broad grin that was spreading across his face; "Oh baby! This is gonna be AWESOME!" Instructor White looked around the rest of the group. The reactions were mixed but she detected a spark of enthusiasm in each of them - even Squall, who she'd half-expected to hang his head in weary acceptance. She noticed instead that he and Rinoa shared a glance. Instructor White wasn't a mindreader, but she would have guessed the silent conversation between them went something like; _I hope you're ready for what we've unleashed here…_ and Rinoa hitting back with … _stop acting all cool as if you're not every bit as excited as the rest of us_.

Instructor White looked at the group in front of her and asked; "Would you like me to explain how I think it has to work?" Squall and a few others nodded. "OK then…" Instructor White turned on her heels and started walking. Her footsteps echoed around the basement as she made her way across the floor towards the drum kit. She turned back as she reached it, facing the group once again; "Zell… please take a seat at the kit." Zell walked over and sat on the stool. As he did so, Instructor White handed him a pair of sticks. She then walked back across the floor to a spot parallel to the drum kit, where the bass amp had been placed; "Irvine… please grab the bass and stand here." Irvine did as instructed, picking up the bass guitar and slinging the strap over his hat as he walked toward the spot where Instructor White was waiting for him. She handed him the cable for the bass amp; "Here… plug yourself in." A low electrical hum briefly filled the basement as the cable jack clamped in place. _It's running to form so far,_ Squall thought.

Instructor White walked forward to the spot closest to the elevator shaft where the keyboard had been set up. A mic stand had been placed in front of it, with the rake adjusted to allow the player to sing while standing. "Selphie… could I ask you to stand behind the keyboard here for me please?" _Huh?_ This wasn't the way she'd expected this to go. A somewhat confused Selphie walked around the keyboard to take up her position. When she was standing in front of it, Instructor White asked her "Could you give me a C chord?" Selphie pressed the keys and Instructor White reached over, lowering the mic angle fractionally to bring it closer to Selphie's face. Quietly, she said; "I think that's about right. Adjust it if you need to." With Selphie still baffled, Instructor White made her way across the floor to the middle microphone stand. "Rinoa… please grab that guitar over there and stand in the middle here."

The guitar they'd borrowed for the occasion from the music department was gloss black, solid mahogany and considerably heavier than it looked. Rinoa picked it up, and made her way over to where Instructor White was standing. Arriving at her designated spot, Rinoa lifted the guitar strap over her head and settled the weighty object into a semi-comfortable position. "Here." Instructor White handed her the cable for the amp that sat on the floor nearby. Another short buzz of electrical humming filled the cavernous space as the jack made contact. She moved on to the last mic stand, the left-hand one, furthest from the elevator shaft. Looking back in Squall's direction, she raised her voice a little to deliver her final instruction; "… and Squall… here please… with your guitar." Squall's guitar was lying flat on a box near the wall. A junk shop find Squall had acquired at the age of 13, its two-tone scarlet and black finish carried the dings and battle-scars of untold previous owners through decades lost to history. It had spent much of the last four and a half years stashed away in its case under Squall's bed. On the rare occasions his quarters were inspected by the faculty or examined by prying roommates, the guitar case was always assumed to be a spare gunblade.

Squall grasped his guitar by the neck, lifted the strap over his head, then walked over to the far side of the basement floor, where Instructor White was waiting for him. Not needing to be told, he stooped down and picked up the amp cable en route and plugged himself in. Satisfied with the lineup she'd settled on, Instructor White walked back to the mixing desk and beckoned Quistis over to her; "Quistis… could you take a seat behind the desk here for me please?" For a second Quistis was surprised at being given something to do. She got got up from the box she'd been sitting on and walked over to the swivel chair behind the mixing console that Instructor White was pointing at. Quistis sat down, wondering what part she was about to play in all this. Instructor White whispered to Quistis; "I'll explain what I need you to do in a minute, just give me a few seconds to talk to the others." She stood up beside Quistis, cleared her throat and addressed the nascent ensemble; "So…" She thrust her arms forward towards them, emphasising the point she was about to make; "… _this_ is the configuration I think stands the best chance of convincing people you're a real band. First impressions…? How does it feel?"

The group looked at each other, not quite knowing what to think. Instructor White persisted; "Come on, talk to me… what are you thinking? Just shout it out." A few seconds of awkward silence followed, until Selphie eventually punctured it; "Um…. I have a question…" Instructor White looked across at Selphie, waiting for her to continue. "How come you put me on the keyboard? I mean… Rinoa can do stuff I can't even get close to." Instructor White nodded in a knowing manner suggesting that she'd anticipated that question. "Rinoa's a very good pianist, there's no doubt about that. I can tell she's had lessons. My guess would be that she's had a _lot_ of lessons." She briefly broke away to ask Rinoa; "Am I right?" Rinoa nodded in confirmation; "Way too many." Instructor White smiled a little at Rinoa's answer before continuing; "And… among the five of you… Rinoa knows the most musical theory. If you have to keep this up for a prolonged period of time, that _will_ be helpful, I'm sure of it. But… while Rinoa's playing is technically very good, the way she plays doesn't fit the style of a rock 'n' roll band."

Instructor White focused directly on Selphie, ready to deliver the meat of her answer. "By contrast, _your_ playing Selphie, is a perfect fit. You played some great classic rock organ stuff earlier. Given time, I've no doubt Rinoa could adapt the way she plays, but your squad leader over there tells me you need to hit the ground in Timber as soon as possible. So the call I've made… and the reason you're on keyboards… is that I think both you and Squall are already at the required standard with the instruments you've got in front of you right now. Putting Rinoa on keyboards would delay things while she unlearned all that classical technique. You two…" she pointed to both Squall and Selphie on left and right flanks of the group; "…could already be in a rock band if you wanted to be… and the good news as far as your cover story goes is that you both play a style that complements the other. That'll get you halfway to passing yourselves off as a believable rock band."

Looking around the basement, Instructor White continued; "The other half of it is up to the rest of you. For the first couple of months, Squall and Selphie are pretty much going to determine what this band sounds like… instrumentally at least. That'll change over time as the rest of you find your feet, but right now you're going to rely on these two pretty heavily." Rinoa raised her hand slightly, and having caught Instructor White's attention, asked; "I guess this means I need to start practicing the guitar like crazy?" She nodded in confirmation; "That's right. You can bash out a few chords on that thing, and that's a great start… but you need to concentrate on being able to sing and play at the same time. Keep practicing and the chords will begin to come without you even having to think about it. Two guitars are much better than one. If you can get the hang of it, you'll free up Squall to tackle the more complex, fiddly stuff. That'll give a bigger, richer sound. And…" she pointed over to Squall "… you've got someone right there who can teach you everything you need to know."

Still unsure of the precise role Instructor White had in mind for her, Rinoa had a follow-up question; "Shouldn't Squall be in the middle if he's going to be doing all kinds of fancy guitar stuff?" Instructor White shook her head. "If you hadn't already guessed, I've put you in the middle because you're going to be doing most of the singing. In practice you can put yourselves anywhere you want of course… it doesn't really matter. But by convention, the singer normally stands front and centre. That's why I've put you there." Squall leaned closer to the microphone he stood behind, and asked his question directly into it; "Why are there three mic stands set up if Rinoa's going to be singing?" Instructor White smirked slightly and chuckled; "I said Rinoa would probably be doing _most_ of the singing - I didn't say she'd be doing all of it." Wagging her finger in Squall's direction, she continued; "You don't get off that easy Squall Leonhart… that's why there are three mic stands."

Instructor White reflected on the major stroke of luck they'd experienced before lunch; "As a group you've been really fortunate. When we had our little karaoke party earlier, we started with the hope that we'd find one person who could be the singer. We actually found three." She looked directly at Rinoa; "You have a phenomenal voice Rinoa, absolutely captivating… but it's like I said, the more of you who can sing, the more options you have as a band. Don't let them get away with making you do all the vocal work. Selphie has a good voice, and so does Squall… as a band, you should use them too." Rinoa gave a quick nod to indicate she understood. Thinking about the areas in greatest need of attention, Instructor White walked forward to address Irvine and Zell directly. "It's probably no surprise that you guys have the most ground to make up." Well aware of the scale of the challenge in front of them, they both shook their heads. Her assessment wasn't a surprise. She continued; "Together the two of you are the rhythm section of this band, and you're going to have to work together very closely."

The Instructor pointed over her shoulder with her thumb; "The other three can't do their stuff unless you're giving them a solid foundation to work with. If you can get to a good standard pretty quickly, this cover story will work. If you can't, you're going to have problems. It won't be easy, but from what I've seen today, I'm sure you can do it." Hoping to boost their confidence levels, she continued; "Zell, you caught on to the basic drum technique pretty quickly and held some simple beats steady. For someone who's never picked up a pair of sticks before today, that's really impressive… but… you need to practice as much as possible from now until the mission starts." She glanced at Irvine; "You both do." She looked back at Zell but spoke loud enough for Squall to hear clearly. "My suggestion, Zell, is that your squad leader over there find a drum tutor down in Balamb town, and book them solid for the next fortnight. As it happens, I know someone who might be able to help… assuming he's available."

"Irvine, you're already pretty tight when it comes to timing. You're plucking simple root notes at the moment but that's alright… the more complicated stuff will come with practice. If you can find a bass tutor, you might want to think about doing the same thing. I do know a couple of people who play bass, but neither of them live in Balamb and I don't think they'd be willing to take on a short term teaching job… so I'm afraid I can't help you there." Irvine smiled as he considered enlisting Selphie as his tutor, replying; "We'll figure something out." Satisfied that the five playing members knew where they stood, Instructor White walked across the basement floor, back towards Quistis who sat in the swivel chair behind the mixing desk. "Quistis… in a way… I'm giving you the most difficult job of all." Quisis frowned, then asked; "And what job is that?" Instructor White put her hand on her hip as she replied; "To make the other five sound good."

Quistis looked perplexed. Audio engineering wasn't part of the SeeD syllabus. She had no idea where to begin. After a pause, she asked; "And… how… do I do that exactly?" Instructor White shrugged slightly as she explained; "It's not easy, but the first thing you have to do is listen with a critical ear. I've lost count of the number of shows I've been to where the band sounded terrible. Sometimes an instrument gets lost in the mix… or the PA will start feeding back… or the guitar amps will spill over into the vocal mics…" She paused. There was no need to list the complete set of possible problems, Quistis would have plenty of opportunity to work it out for herself. She continued; "Let's just say there's a lot that can go wrong. But…" She pointed at Quistis; "… as the sound engineer, it's your job to stop that happening. You need to make sure each instrument comes across to the audience as clearly as possible. They could be playing magnificently, but if they can't be heard properly it's all for nothing. Obviously, you won't have complete control over everything, but you'll have a huge influence over how they sound. Think you can manage it?" Quistis' answer was delivered in a steely, determined tone; "Yes."

Instructor White turned to address the group as a whole; "I'm guessing that most of you, maybe all of you, are feeling a little nervous about this. That's to be expected. Anything that's unfamiliar, or pushes you out of your comfort zone is bound to make you feel that way. Even professionals of twenty years get butterflies in their stomach before they go on stage. It's natural… normal. If you don't feel that pang of nervous excitement, it means you don't care. The more important question is; do any of you feel as though you can't do what you've been asked to do here, assuming you're given time to work at it? If so, you need to say so now. Your lives may depend on it." Five or six seconds of silence ensued before she knew the challenge had been accepted; "Good." Instructor White continued with added emphasis; "Your cover story begins _now_. If you're asked whether you're a band… or if you're in a band… you say, without hesitation, that you _are_. In short, you'll say that Zell's the drummer, Irvine's the bass player, Squall's the guitarist, Selphie's the keyboard player and Rinoa's the singer. Simple as that. Got it?" From the nods around the room, she knew they did. Eager to hear her theory put to the test, she gave the instruction; "Alright then… Let's hear you."

Selphie leaned into the mic in front of her and said; "Zell… you should probably start us off… and we'll try and follow." A series of bass drum kicks and snare hits echoed slowly but intently around the basement. After a clear rhythm had been established, Squall pointed towards Irvine, prompting him to start playing. Irvine's thumb found one of the strings on the bass guitar and he began plucking a single note in time with Zell's bass drum kicks. Tentatively, Selphie jabbed at one of the notes on the keyboard in front of her, to check which key they were in. She leaned into the mic again; "Squall… Rinoa… we're in A." Squall and Rinoa looked at each other for a second, before Rinoa mouthed; "After you." Taking his cue, Squall strummed a single A chord and let it ring out. The sound of Selphie's keyboard rose to fill the space as Squall's guitar slowly faded away. He looked back at Rinoa; "Now you." Rinoa carefully lined her fingers up for the chord she intended to play, then struck the strings with the plectrum.

A warm, overdriven sound complimented the chord Selphie was holding on the keyboard. Selphie leaned into her mic again and asked; "Okay, everybody ready to go to D?" She counted the chord change in; "…two … three …four… and D!" For about thirty seconds, the five managed to play a simple two-chord melody in time and in key. Things began to go awry when Irvine's hand slid too far up the neck of the bass and he momentarily hit the wrong note. Thrown off by the unexpected change in pitch, Zell mistimed the next bass drum kick and couldn't get back into time. Over the next two bars, it all unravelled into an amorphous mess of discordant noise. Slunk behind the mixing desk, Quistis and Instructor White looked at each other with pained expressions until everyone admitted defeat and the sound level fell away into an uncomfortable silence. Irvine took a deep breath and faced up to the mistake; "Sorry everyone, that was my fault, I fucked that up." From the other side of the basement, Squall leaned towards the microphone in front of him; "Again."


End file.
